Kirbymon
by starrider53
Summary: King Dedede has finally hatched a successful plan to increase his power as king, and it involves... the Pokémon world?
1. The Mission Begins

KIRBYMON

_I wanna be the very best._

_That no one ever was._

_To catch them is my real test,_

_To train them is my cause._

_I will travel across the land,_

_Searching far and wide._

_Teach Pokemon to understand_

_That Kirby Kirby Kirby, that's a name you should know._

_Kirby Kirby Kirby he's the star of the show._

_He's more than you think_

_He's the maximum pink,_

_Kirby Kirby Kirby's the one!_

1: The Mission Begins

It was another nice warm Spring day in Dreamland. The sun was shining, the birds where chirping, and everything was pretty much laid back – something that doesn't happen often because of King Dedede's daily schemes. Kirby was in his little white dome-shaped house barely waking up from his slumber. He yawned as he got out of bed. He smiled and thought of what to eat. The little pink Star Warrior was eager to start the day.

Kirby closed the front door of his house behind him as he stepped outside. He closed his eyes to take in the nice feeling of a gentle spring breeze caressing his face. He was holding a brown basket to collect some fruit he was going to pick in the forest. He inhaled deeply, and smiled again as he began strolling into the forest. He hummed along a happy song as he went deeper into the forest. It was getting dark from the amount of trees there, blocking the welcoming warmth of the sun. Kirby kept walking until he suddenly stopped in front of a tree. His jaw dropped to the ground as he saw how many apples the tree had. There had to be millions of them up there! "Poyo poyo!" Kirby yelled excitedly as he flailed his arms, and then he floated up to the very top of the tree. He couldn't wait to eat ALL of those juicy red apples. Just the thought of it made his mouth water.

Kirby got into position and began to inhale. One by one the apples detached from the tree with almost no effort and were consumed by the hungry Star Warrior. He was having the time of his life, until a sudden shaking occurred, interrupting Kirby in the process. He almost fell from the tree had he not hung on to one of its branches. A few moments later, the shaking subsided. Kirby was a little angry for not eating all of the apples from the tree, but was more curious about the shaking. His curiosity getting the best of him, he quickly gathered some apples that fell off during the earthquake and put them safely in his basket. He closed the lid and began running to where it came from. It appeared to have come from… King Dedede's castle. Oh, boy.

...

"Ha HA! It really worked!" King Dedede exclaimed. He giggled as he jumped around from excitement. Escargoon, however, didn't find this amusing at all. He was found crouching next to a chair in a far off corner of the room, holding on to it for dear life. He was rather terrified from the shaking that happened earlier to focus on what was going on in the present. He trembled as he slowly picked himself up and made his way towards the bouncing penguin king. "S-Sire," he managed to say, "W-what exactly i-is this for, anyway?" The king stopped his commotion and turned to look at his loyal servant. He sighed. "Don'tcha remember? This portal here will take me to another world, so that I can rule it! I'm gonna be ruler of TWO worlds now!" he resumed back to his happiness as he reminded himself why he was doing this. Escargoon shook his head slightly in disapproval as he went and plopped down on the chair he was clinging onto.

_Earlier, King Dedede was striking another bargain with the NME employee, trying another attempt to get rid of Kirby – again. Only this time, things went a little differently. The NME employee not only guaranteed that this was his lucky day to get rid of Kirby for good, but also got him to order a product – one that he never imagined in ordering in his life: a inter-dimensional portal. The NME employee convinced King Dedede that the world he would step into will be easily manipulated in letting him rule over them. _

_"Are you sure they'll fall for it?" asked King Dedede._

_"Of course!" assured the NME employee. "It's guaranteed to go as planned."_

_King Dedede smirked. "Well, if ya say so, bring it over right away!"_

_"Certainly," the employee said in a confident tone. Then the screen went blank. A few seconds later, the ground began to shake violently as a chrome capsule dug its way out into the surface in the middle of the room. The paintings on the wall fell, the furniture scattered everywhere, and the snail servant Escargoon, now completely scared and confused on what was happening, scurried over to a safe corner next to a chair and clung on to it. Unlike Escargoon, King Dedede was smirking in an evil manner as he put his hands together like any villain would. Moments later, the shaking subsided, and the capsule, now in full view, towered over them proudly like a statue._

Little did the snail and penguin know that a pair of mysterious amber eyes witnessed it all from the shadows of the ceiling's corners. _I must warn Kirby,_ he thought, and snuck out to meet up with the pink Star Warrior.

After his rush of excitement was drained, King Dedede decided to inspect the strange contraption. He took his hammer out, just in case something weird happened. His eyes narrowed as he slowly walked around it, looking at it up and down, trying to figure out how exactly the portal worked. Finally he saw a small button that glowed a reddish color. Scratching his chin, King Dedede decided to press it. Suddenly, an entrance began to open up, revealing a purple swirling vortex. King Dedede stepped back, fully impressed. The purple glow was so bright, the king had to shield his eyes a bit. This was much better than he could ever imagine! A mischievous grin formed on his beak as he looked back at Escargoon, who looked up just in time to see the portal open. Escargoon seemed to understand the king's grin and immediately stood up in alarm. "I'm goin' in," King Dedede announced. "And so are you!"

"M-me!?" Escargoon yelped. He had a bad feeling about this – about ALL of this! But he knew he had to tag along; after all, that's what loyalty is all about. Escargoon sighed as he gloomily went to stand beside his king. "Are you ready for this?" King Dedede said, his excitement making another comeback. Escargoon only looked at him as if to say _Do I have a choice?_ He slightly nodded. King Dedede took that as a yes, and without further ado, he grabbed Escargoon's hand and dragged them both into the portal. "WEEEEEEEEE!" King Dedede shouted as he and his servant whirled around in the purple vortex. "What have I gotten myself into!?" yelled Escargoon with regret all over his face. Moments later, they disappeared into the vortex, and the capsule closed. Complete silence filled the dim-lit room as soon as the portal doors closed completely. A Waddle Dee peeked into the room to see what was going on. He didn't see anyone there, which was strange. He just heard noises that sounded like shouting. Ignoring the portal, he shrugged it off and went on with his business.

...

Meta Knight flew up above King Dedede's castle and landed on the roof, his wings reverting back to his cape. He shields his eyes to try to find Kirby. _Where could he be,_ he thought. A few seconds later, he saw his tiny pink body coming out from the forest. Meta Knight's cape transformed into wings once again as he swooped down and landed on the dew-covered grass to meet up with the pink puffball. Kirby saw him and immediately waved at his mentor. "Hiii!" he said with a smile. Meta Knight didn't have time for small talk. "Kirby, this is urgent. I'm afraid King Dedede is up to no good once again." Kirby's smile faded as he tried to absorb everything Meta Knight just said. "Poyo?" he asked, confused. Meta Knight grabbed Kirby's hand and led him inside the castle. "Hurry! We cannot waste much time!" Meta Knight said. Kirby struggled to keep up with the other Star Warrior. Finally they got to the king's room, with the big chrome object that came from the ground. The two warriors carefully approached the object, Kirby feeling a bit intimidated by its enormous size.

"King Dedede and Escargoon went in there," Meta Knight said as he pointed at the portal. "It sounded like King Dedede wants to rule another world." Kirby looked at it, somewhat confused. He didn't know how they could of fit in there. Then Kirby noticed the button. His curiosity gnawing at him again, he went up to it and was about to push it, when Meta Knight suddenly stopped him. "Kirby, this is dangerous. We don't know what is out there," he said. Kirby looked at his mentor, thinking about what to do. He then came to a conclusion. "Poyo, poyo, poyo!" he said affirmatively. Meta Knight's eyes widened a bit from surprise. "You… want to go _follow_ them? Do you _really_ want to do that?" Kirby nodded. Meta Knight pondered at the whole situation for a moment. He didn't know what was out there, or what King Dedede's intentions would do, but he certainly didn't want their lives to be jeopardized unexpectedly. Then again, they have to stop the tyrant from getting his way with others.

"Very well," Meta Knight finally answered. "Poyo!" Kirby happily said. Meta Knight stepped out of the way so Kirby can do the honor of pressing the button. Kirby clapped with excitement, and stepped back as the portal was opening up. The purple vortex swirled clockwise, somewhat hypnotizing Kirby. Before he got dizzy, Meta Knight brought him back to reality. "Are you ready to face what is on the other side?" A hint of uncertainty could be heard in his voice. Kirby assured him with another "poyo", and they both finally jumped into the vortex the same way the penguin and the snail did earlier. Then the gates to the other dimension closed, leaving once again another unsettling silence in the dim-lit room.


	2. The World of Pokemon

Chapter 2: The World of Pokemon

In the Pokemon world – in the outskirts of Nuvema Town, to be exact – was a nice sunny day, just like in Dreamland. There were birds such as Spearow and Chatot singing out the day with their cries and songs. Deeper in the grassy area are two Pokemon: a Pikachu and a Jigglypuff, who were originally from the Kanto region. They were best friends ever since they could remember, and traveled along the forest area in search for adventure and other new things to look forward to. They always depended and looked out for each other, just like a brother and sister would. Pikachu was more of an adventurous and brave type, while Jigglypuff could be described as the complete opposite. Pikachu can be rowdy at times, but is also as nice as Jigglypuff is. Despite their differences, they were glad to have each other's company, because they didn't know or have any other family members of their own.

As they were walking down a dirt path over the past hour or so, their feet began to feel tired. At first they didn't say anything, but when Jigglypuff's groan escaped from her mouth, Pikachu decided it was time for a break. "Hey," he told his sister-figure, "Let's eat some Oran berries." Jigglypuff smiled, relieved that they were finally stopping to catch their breath for a while. They stepped out from the trail and walked into a bushier area where they immediately found some berries. They patted the soft grass down a bit before they sat down to eat. The berries they were eating were juicy and sweet, filling their mouths with its amazing flavor. They ate a few more until they saw a purple glow not too far away. Finally, something new! They looked at each other and agreed in checking out what that new thing exactly was.

They crept up behind some tall grass to see from a safe distance what was going on. They were not too far away from the glow, which grew into a large swirly oval. Then Jigglypuff and Pikachu didn't expect a big blue penguin and a purplish snail walk out of it. They looked at each other with the same surprised face. Did they just come from another world? But why? And why exactly _here_? They didn't know how to answer those questions, but their thoughts were interrupted as they listened to the two travelers.

"Sire," Escargoon said, "Do you know where we are exactly?" King Dedede looked around at all the green of the forest. "Nope," he said. "But this place is sure one heck of a nice one. It'll be perfect for me!" He laughed happily at the thought. He couldn't wait to have this world at the palm of his hand, doing whatever he wants with it. It will be his property soon.

"Before you get carried away, sire," Escargoon said, "Remember that we don't know how, or where to start. We don't even have a plan!" King Dedede looked at the worried snail, knowing that he was right. He didn't realize until now that he didn't have any idea on how to make this happen. How exactly _will_ they do it? Suddenly, a Watchog came out from a rustling bush. He noticed the two outsiders and stood in alarm, its tail pointing straight up; he was ready to start a battle.

Jigglypuff and Pikachu got a little excited about the situation. They knew one thing for sure that the penguin and the snail didn't know anything about Pokemon battles. "This is gonna be interesting," whispered Jigglypuff with a smile, as Pikachu giggled in agreement. So they sat there, trying not to squirm, watching attentively in what the travelers would do.

The Watchog kept glaring at the two, waiting for their first move. A slight growl could be heard from its throat, which startled Escargoon and hid behing King Dedede. The king rolled his eyes and sighed. "Scaredy cat," he mumbled. Then he approached the Watchog, his hammer held tightly against his chest. He was now only inches away from the Pokemon, Escargoon still behind his king. The Watchog growled once more, startling Escargoon some more. "S-s-sire," Escargoon's words trembled from his mouth. "W-w-what d-do you think y-you're doing?" King Dedede ignored him as he grasped his hammer tighter. Escargoon shut his eyes tightly, knowing what the penguin was thinking. With an evil grin, he lifted his weapon high above his head and quickly brought it down with a loud thump. The Watchog did not see this coming as he was caught off guard, the blow powerful enough to make him pass out. Jigglypuff and Pikachu's jaws dropped. _What just happened?_ they thought, taking in the incident that happened before their very eyes. King Dedede smirked as he looked down at the fainted Watchog, his hammer leaning over his shoulder. "Heh," he said. "That was easy."

Escargoon, who now opened his eyes, looked down at the Watchog and gasped. "Sire!" he shouted in alarm. "What have you done!?" King Dedede laughed. "Don't worry. I didn't kill it." Right after he said that, the Watchog got up, trembling as he got up on his feet. He looked up at the king with fear, now that he knew what he was capable of. "P-please… d-don't hurt me," he said with a shaky voice as he lowered his ears and tail. King Dedede laughed some more. He liked getting the respect he deserved. Then he had an idea. "Tell you what. I won't hurt ya if ya help us out. We ain't from here, y'know." Escargoon looked at King Dedede with surprise. "But Sire, should we trust this… this creature?" he said as he eyed the Watchog suspiciously up and down. "Don't worry none," King Dedede said. "If he don't help us out, he'll get another clobberin' from me." He glared at the Watchog as he finished his sentence. The Watchog felt like he shrunk in fear and trembled some more. "No! Please!" he plead. King Dedede smirked. "Good," he said. "Now start tellin' us where the heck we are." The Watchog got up a bit from his crouching position and explained to them about the Pokemon world. Meanwhile, Jigglypuff and Pikachu were still in their hiding spots, still unable to figure out their business here, or how exactly they got there. They should have told other Pokemon about this, but they just couldn't get away. They wanted to know about them more – spy on them, to be exact. They were also a bit surprised that no one else noticed the presence of the two travelers except them.

"So, you're tellin' me that there's these Pokemons all over the place?" King Dedede asked the Watchog. "And they know how to use _powers_!?" The Watchog nodded. "We each know up to four moves, but if we want to learn a new one, we need to forget a move we already know." King Dedede scratched his chin, truly intrigued by all of this information the Watchog was giving him. "So what powers do ya know?" King Dedede asked. "Well, I know how to use Cut, Confuse Ray, Growl, and Crunch." King Dedede scratched his chin some more, this time thinking of some sort of idea. He wanted to use these moves to his advantage, but how? "Say," he continued, "What does Confuse Ray do?" "Well, you sort of use this ray to get your opponent incapable of thinking straight for some time." The Watchog said. "Sometimes you can get them to do what you want." Hearing this, the penguin king smiled widely. "Excellent!" he shouted. "That move will be perfect for world domination!" he added with a happy laugh, and then he started to dance around again just like he did at his castle. The Watchog looked at him confused. "E-excuse me? World Domination?" he asked. Escargoon went up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "We'll explain this along the way," he whispered with a sigh, knowing that there's no interrupting the king and his happy dance. The Watchog nodded, still uncertain of the whole situation. "Can you show us where you live?" Escargoon asked. The Watchog nodded again. "This way," he said as he started to lead the way to his home. Soon enough, they disappeared.

"What was _that_ all about?" Jigglypuff asked out loud as she and Pikachu got out from the bush. "I have no idea," said Pikachu, "but I'm pretty sure those three are up to no good." When they were still wondering about the whole incident, there was another purple glow appearing into view, only this time the two Pokemon were right in front of it. They stepped back as they saw the glow form into a vortex. "Not again," Pikachu said annoyed. Pikachu crossed his arms across his chest with a stern look on his face, ready to face whatever was going to come out from the portal. Jigglypuff, on the other hand, was scared out of her mind and hid behind her brother, holding onto his yellow tail for comfort. Pikachu's red cheeks began to give out sparks of electricity as the portal opened bigger and bigger each second. Once the portal opened completely, Meta Knight and Kirby walked out of the portal, looking around the forest area, completely unaware of the Pikachu and the Jigglypuff standing before them. "We must be careful, Kirby," Meta Knight said to his companion as he drew out Galaxia. "We don't know what lurks around here." Pikachu waited impatiently for the two puffballs to look at them, as Jigglypuff stared intensively at the two visitors with curiosity.

Pikachu had enough waiting around. "Hey, you!" he shouted at them. Kirby and Meta Knight jumped a bit as their attention was brought back down to earth by the yellow mouse. Pikachu glared at them, his arms still crossed and Jigglypuff still staring at them from behind her brother. Pikachu's ears twitched with irritation. "Who do you think you are, coming out of nowhere like that blue penguin did earlier?" Meta Knight immediately put away his sword and held his hands out. "Please, we mean no harm. Right, Kirby?" He elbowed the pink Star Warrior so that he can respond. "Uh, yeah!" Kirby said. He quickly covered his mouth in surprise. Meta Knight also was surprised at him. "Y-you can talk?" he said. "… I guess so!" Kirby responded happily. "Yay!" "Uh, hello!" Pikachu said, waving his arms at them. "You still have some explaining to do!"

"Sorry about that," Meta Knight said. "You see, Kirby could only say 'poyo' at our home planet, but now that we are in yours, he now spontaneously talks." Meta Knight paused, remembering what the yellow mouse said. "Did you say that you saw a blue penguin come by earlier?" Pikachu nodded, still with a stern look. "Was he big, wielding a hammer, wearing a red robe, accompanied by a snail?" Pikachu, now curious, nodded again. "King Dedede and Escargoon were here!" Kirby concluded. "We have to find them, Meta Knight!" He grabbed Meta Knight's gloved hand and tried to drag him along until Pikachu stopped them. "Woah, woah, woah! Wait a minute!" he said. "Do you know those guys?" Meta Knight and Kirby nodded. "He is our king," Meta Knight said. "Yeah!" Kirby added. "And he's mean, too!"

Jigglypuff then let go of Pikachu's tail and walked up to the two new visitors. "We know where they went," she said. "We can help you guys out." The three of them looked at her with surprise. "Jigglypuff," Pikachu said a little alarmed, "What are you doing?" Jigglypuff looked back at Pikachu, her eyes big and hopeful. "These two seem like they are good guys and are trying to stop those other guys." She looked back at the puffballs and smiled. "We should help them out, especially because they don't know how to get around here." Meta Knight and Kirby anxiously waited for the yellow mouse to answer as he scratched the back of his head, thinking it over. "I don't know, Jiggs," he said a little unsure. "Jigglypuff looked disappointed. "Aw, c'mon Pikachu!" she whined. "Just give them a chance!" Pikachu looked at his sister, then back at the two puffballs, still unsure about all of this. He was afraid that they would turn into impostors and would lead them to their demise. But his dear sister was really confident about these so-called heroes. Usually when she decides on something, it's her final decision, and she has never made a mistake before.

Pikachu finally gave in and sighed. "Okay, you win." Jigglypuff squealed as she jumped up and down with excitement. "Hooray!" she said. She then turned to the awaiting puffballs. "Thank you for trusting us," Meta Knight said as he smiled behind his mask. Jigglypuff smiled back as she grabbed both his and Kirby's hands. "Let's get a move on!" she declared, leading the way to her and Pikachu's tree house. Meta Knight and Kirby looked at her in surprise as she practically dragged them along, forgetting a bit about her brother being left behind. Pikachu couldn't help but chuckle at his little sister. _There's her adventurous spirit,_ he thought with a smile, and then he scurried over to tag along. Their adventure was just beginning.


	3. Trusty Acquaintances

Chapter 3: Trusty Acquaintances

"Here we are!" Jigglypuff announced excitedly as she signaled the two Star Warriors to the tree house. This was actually one of the many tree houses she and Pikachu have made; one in each region, to be exact. This yellow tree house was built on a tall oak tree. Its tough bark promised resistance against harsh weather, and the large amount of leaves offered nice shade, making this place a cozy one. "C'mon," she said, "I'll show you inside." She puffed up until she got inside the house, Meta Knight and Kirby right behind her.

The house felt cozier once they were inside. There were some furniture made out of hay and twigs and such organized around the surprisingly spacious room. There were also two hay piles on the two farther corners of the room – Pikachu and Jigglypuff's beds. "Have a seat," Jigglypuff offered with a warm smile. Kirby and Meta Knight obeyed as they got comfortable on the makeshift couch made of hay. Jigglypuff then sat across from them in a chair made out of twigs and leaves tightly knotted together. There was a while of silence, none of them noticing that Pikachu still hasn't caught up with them yet. Kirby looked around before he decided to speak. "Nice place you got here," he stated. Jigglypuff smiled. "Thank you. It took about two days to get this all together, including the furniture. The chair I'm sitting on was tough to make, though! Those branches wouldn't cooperate!" She pouted a bit when she remembered the frustration she had that day. "But in the end, I'm glad I fixed it up." Meta Knight's eyes glowed a bit brighter. "You made that chair all by yourself?" Jigglypuff smiled some more. "Yep! All by myself!" She giggled as she noticed how the puffballs admired her skill. A few moments later, the silence returned among them and was soon broken once Pikachu finally came in the house.

"Oh!" Jigglypuff gasped. "Sorry, bro! I didn't know we left you behind! I'm so silly!" She blushed in embarrassment. She couldn't believe she forgot about Pikachu's presence. Probably because of this whole idea of helping the two travelers got her too excited to think straight. Pikachu quickly dismissed her apology. "Don't worry about it. I actually stopped a bit to bring some food," he said as he showed a brown potato sack full of berries. He turned his attention to the Star Warriors. "You guys must be hungry after a long day, right?" Kirby couldn't agree more when it came to food. "Oh, YEAH!" he shouted happily as he jumped off of the couch. Meta Knight couldn't help but roll his eyes and shake his head a bit. _Typical Kirby_, he thought.

Kirby couldn't be happier as his tongue explored the new flavors he was indulging. He thought that Oran Berries were the best thing that ever existed, not to mention the Pecha Berries, or the Cheri Berries. Heck, he liked the Pokemon world already! As he was practically chomping down everyone's dinner, Pikachu and Jigglypuff couldn't help but stare at his behavior. "Boy, I haven't seen anyone eat like that since a Snorlax," Pikachu thought out loud. Jigglypuff chuckled a little and resumed eating what she had left over. Kirby stopped briefly to ask what a Snorlax was. "It's a big ol' Pokemon, bigger than this house!" Jigglypuff explained. "Yeah," Pikachu added. "All it pretty much does is eat and sleep a lot; the perfect couch potato." He chuckled at the thought. Meta Knight chuckled a bit too. He was curious to meet one soon.

"Hey," Pikachu began. "We haven't properly introduced ourselves." Jigglypuff covered her face as she blushed again. "D'oh! We're not good hosts!" Meta Knight smiled. "It's quite alright," he said. "We haven't been exactly good guests, either." He nudged Kirby to get his attention, for he was referring to him when he said that last part. Kirby looked up from his food devouring process, obviously confused since he wasn't paying much attention. "Well, my name's Pikachu," the yellow mouse said. "And this is my little sister, Jigglypuff." "Pleased to meet you both!" Jigglypuff added with another tender smile. Before Meta Knight could introduce them both, Kirby did the honor of doing so. "I'm Kirby, and this is Meta Knight, my dad!" He hugged Meta Knight's arm tightly as he finished talking. Everyone except Kirby were a little shocked. The two Pokemon then averted their attention from Kirby to Meta Knight, looking at him in confusion. Meta Knight held up his hands. "Well… Not exactly as _blood-related_ relatives," he assured. "I am more like his… father figure." Meta Knight never really thought about his relationship with Kirby until now, and he couldn't believe he knew and didn't at the same time. "I basically teach him how to become a better Star Warrior by handling his powers," he added. "He needs all the training he can get to be better off when facing his enemies." Jigglypuff looked more convinced than Pikachu, but nevertheless they both believed him. Jigglypuff couldn't help but gush over at Kirby's adorableness of hanging on to Meta Knight's arm, caressing his face tenderly against it. "He must really love you," Jigglypuff said with a quiet giggle. Meta Knight froze in place. He has heard about love, that one emotion that is said to be universal, but he had never _seen_ or _felt_ it before. Fatherly love… was it happening now, clinging on tightly to his left arm? He didn't know how to respond to it, so he remained quiet as he stared at Jigglypuff. She stared back as well, only this time she sensed some doubtfulness in Meta Knight, and she tried searching for a sign in his pupil less eyes, only to find nothing. She broke off the stare by looking back at Kirby. "So," she said. "You said you two are Star Warriors?"

As time passed, both pairs began to know more and more about the other pair. Pikachu and Jigglypuff now knew about Kirby and Meta Knight's duty as Star Warriors, and Kirby and Meta Knight now knew about the Pokemon world and what Pokemon are and what they can do. Despite their differences, they finally became good acquaintances and enjoyed each other's company. It seemed as if they already knew each other since forever. As they were passing the time, they didn't realize that it was already dark outside until Jigglypuff yawned. Pikachu looked out from a window. "Oh? Nighttime already?" he said. "Bedtime it is!" Pikachu looked at his new friends. "Do you guys mind if you sleep here?" Both Kirby and Meta Knight smiled. "Not at all," Meta Knight answered. Pikachu nodded and then went to another corner of the room to fix up two beds with hay. "The hay is actually really comfortable," Pikachu assured them. "It doesn't even itch. Just look at Jiggs!" The two Star Warriors followed Pikachu's pointing finger to realize that Jigglypuff was already sound asleep, not making any uncomfortable facial expressions but soft snoring instead. She looked very peaceful and relaxed as she laid on her belly, proving Pikachu's point about the hay beds. Pikachu laughed softly. "She always was a heavy sleeper," he said as he returned fixing up the beds for his guests. He packed and patted the hay until it seemed comfortable enough for them to sleep in. Pikachu went to a small wooden box and took out two baby blue blankets and handed them to Kirby and Meta Knight. They were very soft and comfortable, like a security blanket. "It's been a bit warm at nights lately," Pikachu explained, "but just in case it gets cold." Kirby snuggled with the blanket. "I love this blanket!" he shouted. Meta Knight jumped a bit from his excited tone. "Shh, Kirby! We don't want to wake up Jigglypuff!" he said in a harsh whisper. Pikachu smiled at Meta Knight's awareness. "It's okay, Meta Knight," he said. "She really _is_ a heavy sleeper. She won't get up unless you literally force her up." Meta Knight relaxed a bit, wondering why he felt a bit overprotective for her. He came to the conclusion that he felt that way for people he cared about… but it just felt weird that he already cared for these Pokemon he just met. Maybe he's just too tired and needs some rest. Yeah, that's it. "Oh," he said a little embarrassed. "I apologize." "Don't sweat it," Pikachu said. "Let's hit the hay, shall we?" He laughed at his little pun and walked towards Jigglypuff to cover her up with a blanket. "Goodnight, you two." Pikachu told the two puffballs. "Night!" Kirby answered back. "Goodnight to you, too," Meta Knight responded. Soon enough, different kinds of peaceful snoring could be heard coming from the little yellow tree house.

At the Watchog's home, however, things were not as peaceful as they should be. King Dedede was complaining about sleeping there "where it's all muddy and grassy" in the dark cave. "This ain't fit for a king!" he complained some more. Watchog couldn't handle any more yapping from that big blue penguin. He also knew he was going to get some complaints from his neighbors the following day. "Sorry," he said for the hundredth time, "this is where you're gonna have to sleep." King Dedede stomped the ground again for the hundredth time. "I don't wanna!" he bellowed. Escargoon was equally fed up with his majesty's complaining. Sure, he himself didn't like the idea of sleeping in a bushy forest, but he knew this is all they had for now and they had to deal with it. He rubbed his face and got up from where he was trying to sleep. "Please, Sire," he plead, almost in the verge of tears from frustration. "Just… Just go to sleep. Please!" King Dedede frown went deeper as he crossed his arms tightly across his chest in a snobbish way. "No," he said. "I ain't sleepin' on no dirt floor. Ever! You hear!?" Escargoon wanted to choke him so badly at the moment, but he knew he couldn't, besides the fact that King Dedede didn't really have a neck. He sighed in frustration and rubbed his temples. "Fine," he said as he closed his eyes. "If I put some leaves there, _then_ will you go to sleep there?" King Dedede thought about it for a moment. "As long as I'm not touching the dirty dirty ground, then it's fine by me," he concluded. Accepting his demand, Escargoon shuffled out of the cave over to a nearby tree and yanked off some bushes surrounding it. He was about to grab one last bush when it suddenly started to shake. He froze in place, not knowing what was making the bush shake. He didn't want to find out, so he proceeded in grabbing another bush a few feet away. _This place is starting to give me the creeps_, he thought. Finally completing his little mission, he returned to the Watchog's home and dumped all of the leaves on the spot where King Dedede will sleep. He shuffled the leaves in a tired manner until the leaves were finally spread out enough. "Much better!" King Dedede said as he laughed in approval. It has been a long day for the three of them as they were plotting their ultimate scheme. There were big arguments because of small disagreements. One would suggest starting conquering the Pokemon from the Kanto region, but then another would suggest starting from the Johto region. Then it would be what type of Pokemon they should get on their side first. An ideal Pokemon would be a Ditto because of its Transform move, but you don't see them out in the wild, so one would suggest looking for a Voltorb for its Self Destruct move, but then another would say that a Wobbuffet is better because of its self-defense mechanism. After all that arguing, they didn't get anywhere with the exception of where to sleep. They had a long way ahead of them if they keep this up. Everyone was exhausted from yelling at each other at the top of their lungs, calling each other names and declaring their ideas lame and not worth trying out. They really need to catch up on their sleep and restore their energy for the next day to come.


	4. An Army of Joltik

Chapter 4: An Army of Joltik

The next day finally bloomed. The sun was out and shining brightly, indicating another warm day ahead for everyone. King Dedede sat up on his little leaf bed, rubbing off the sleep from his eyes. He struggled up and stretched his back. "Hm," he said. "Sleepin' here wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." He looked around only to find Escargoon and Watchog still sleeping soundly, each in a fetal position. Completely ignoring the dark circles under their eyes, King Dedede shouted at them as loud as he could, the cave magnifying his voice in loud echoes. "HEY, LAZYBONES! GET UP BEFORE _I_ DO IT!" Escargoon and Watchog immediately woke up in sudden alarm from the unpleasant yelling from their master. This unnecessary action only managed to get their day started on the wrong foot. "What's the big idea!?" Escargoon snapped. Watchog let out a slight growl of annoyance escape from between his clenched teeth.

"Don't you growl at me!" King Dedede said, almost doing a sassy head roll. "We better get started right away, and we're doing it MY way!" Watchog shook his head in disbelief. He only spent one day with this guy and now he can't stand him anymore. He just wanted to throw in the towel and quit on helping them, but when he looked back at the king size hammer, he cursed under his breath, remembering his fear of that barbaric weapon. Having no choice, he got up along with Escargoon and walked out of the cave to continue with their already ruined day.

Back at the tree house, Kirby was the first one to wake up. He forgot for a moment where he was, but regained his short forgotten memory once he looked at the two sleeping Pokemon on the other side of the tree house. There were birds singing outside, and the sunlight coming in through the little square window brightened the room. Everything was perfect until Kirby's stomach growled. Kirby rubbed it gently as he got up. _Maybe there's some of that fruit left over from last night_, he thought. He still remembered the juiciness of them as he took big bites off of them. Just the thought of it made his mouth water. He walked to the middle of the room to look inside the potato sack that held all of that delicious fruit from the previous night. Unfortunately for him, there wasn't any left. He pouted. He was too desperate to taste the fruit again that he didn't hesitate in taking the potato sack outside and start looking for some tasty goodness. He climbed down the branch ladder trying not to make a lot of creaking noises with every step he took to not wake up the others. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he rushed over to a grassy area of the forest to start his little fruit hunt.

Moments later, Pikachu woke up. He scratched his head as he got out of his little hay bed. He looked around, noticing right away that Kirby already got up and had gone somewhere. He didn't worry too much because he was still half asleep. His eyes then stopped to notice that Meta Knight was sleeping with his armor on. He thought it was strange, because sleeping with armor on was obviously uncomfortable, especially with a mask covering your face the whole time. Armor doesn't let you move around as you please, especially at nighttime. _What a strange guy_, Pikachu thought. He decided not to get into what doesn't concern him and not ask about it. He thought it would make Meta Knight uncomfortable and somewhat be invading his privacy. Pikachu then thought about Kirby. _Those two are really different from each other, yet they stick together_, Pikachu thought. He admired that father-son relationship thing they had; he thought it was very special, even if the two puffballs had a different view of it. Pikachu looked at his little sister, still sound asleep and smiled at her. He knew that they were both complete opposites as well, but they couldn't possibly live on without each other, either. That was a true bond between a brother and a sister, and he was glad he could share it with Jigglypuff.

Pikachu, who was still deep in thought, didn't notice Meta Knight getting up from his makeshift hay bed. "Good morning, Pikachu," Meta Knight said. Pikachu jumped a bit from surprise as he looked at the blue puffball. "Oh, good morning to you, too," Pikachu replied. Meta Knight didn't mean to interrupt Pikachu's business and was a bit embarrassed about it. "I am sorry for frightening you," he apologized. Pikachu smiled shyly. "Oh, don't worry about it," he said. "I was just thinking about stuff." Meta Knight nodded, understanding that sometimes one needs to stop and think for a while, something that he himself often does.

Meta Knight looked over where Kirby was supposed to be, but didn't see him there. "Do you know where Kirby went?" he asked. Pikachu shook his head. "I was actually wondering about the same thing just now." He noticed that the potato sack was missing as well and chuckled. "I guess he got hungry and went looking for food," Pikachu said as he pointed to where the potato sack was. Meta Knight now understood and shook his head. _The things he does for food_, he thought. "Well," Meta Knight said, "I might as well go look for him, just to make sure he doesn't go too far."

Pikachu stood up before Meta Knight did. "Or how about I look for him?" he offered. "I don't want you to get lost since you don't know your way around here very well." Meta Knight thought it over and nodded. "Very well," he said. Pikachu smiled. "Okay, I'll be back. And, can you please take care of Jiggs?" He looked back at his still sleeping Balloon Pokemon sister, smiling once again at her dreamy state. "Make sure she wakes up soon, yeah?" Meta Knight stared intently at Jigglypuff, following the rhythmic movement of her gentle breathing. He nodded, agreeing to do what he was asked to do. Pikachu swiftly dropped down from the tree house and dashed into the forest in search for Kirby.

Meta Knight kept staring at the sleeping Jigglypuff. She looked peaceful. Meta Knight walked up to her and sat down to be on her eye level. Ever since he met her, he couldn't get over how big her eyes were. And they were also… beautiful. Her pure green eyes always seemed to sparkle, even if there wasn't any kind of light reflecting on them. Jigglypuff was facing Meta Knight's direction, still sleeping soundly, but Meta Knight still remembered vividly how her eyes looked like, and couldn't stop imagining them.

A few minutes of this went by until Meta Knight remembered that he was supposed to wake her up. He stood up quietly and looked at her, wondering how to do so. He tried tugging gently at her hand, and to his surprise, her skin was soft as silk. He never knew that soft skin like hers was possible to obtain. The tugging, however, didn't wake her up. Meta Knight then tried removing her blanket, but as if on reflex Jigglypuff reached for it and clung onto it tightly. Meta Knight chuckled, finally seeing Pikachu's point of Jigglypuff's love of sleep. His eyes briefly flashed a pink color from her cute gesture. Finally he decided to call her name.

"Jigglypuff," he whispered softly near her ear. "Jigglypuff. It's time to wake up." He tugged gently at her arm once again as he kept calling her name. A few seconds later, Jigglypuff yawned and stretched, finally waking up. Her eyes fluttered open and met Meta Knight's glowing yellow ones. He didn't realize they were only a few inches away from each other because he was once again mesmerized by Jigglypuff's round eyes.

Jigglypuff smiled at him. "Good morning, Meta Knight," she said. "Good morning, Jigglypuff," Meta Knight said as he helped her up. Jigglypuff looked around, noticing the other two inhabitants missing. "Where is everybody?" she asked. "Kirby went to look for food, and Pikachu left not too long ago to find him," Meta Knight answered. Jigglypuff nodded in understanding. She yawned as she went to sit on her favorite chair made of twigs and took out a sketchbook. "Would you like to sit down?" she asked. Meta Knight nodded as he sat across from Jigglypuff on the hay couch.

Everything was peacefully quiet in the tree house, except for the chirping of birds and the scribbling sound of Jigglypuff's pencil. Every now and then she would take a quick glance at Meta Knight and then would continue her sketching. Meta Knight kept staring at her, his curiosity questioning what she was sketching. He never batted an eye as he fixed his attention on Jigglypuff's. _They are so big_, he kept thinking. He had never seen eyes as big as hers. Her eyes darted about in almost every direction and constantly changing from a variety of expressions as she passionately sketched her latest piece of artwork.

After a few minutes, Jigglypuff set her sketchbook down and smiled at Meta Knight. "It's done!" she cheerfully announced. Meta Knight smiled behind his mask at her happiness. Jigglypuff got off of her chair and took her sketchbook as she walked towards Meta Knight. Smiling, she handed him her sketchbook so that she could see her masterpiece. Meta Knight's curiosity turned to surprise when he saw that Jigglypuff sketched _him_. His eyes turned a deep green as he looked at all the details of the sketch. It was as if he was looking at a photograph; everything was perfect. She captured every little detail correctly, which fascinated him more.

Jigglypuff looked at him and noticed the change in his eye color. She was curious about it and what it meant, but decided not to ask about it. Instead she asked for his opinion. "Do you like it?" she asked. "I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," Meta Knight replied, smiling as his eyes reverted back to its original color. "I love it. It's beautiful. Well done, Jigglypuff." Jigglypuff blushed at his complement and giggled a bit. "Thank you," she said. She grabbed the sketchbook and carefully ripped off the drawing from it. "It's for you," she said with a warm smile.

Meta Knight was surprised at receiving such a wonderful gift, especially it being a self portrait of him. He gladly took it and folded it carefully, hiding it in his dimensional cape. "Thank you, Jigglypuff," he said. "No problem!" she said. She put away her sketchbook in a basket near the window. Just then, Pikachu and Kirby came through the entrance.

"We're back!" Pikachu announced. "And with more food!" Kirby added. Meta Knight glared at him for leaving without notice. "What?" Kirby said without the slightest idea of what he's mad about. "You left without telling anyone," Meta Knight reminded him, annoyed. Kirby scratched the back of his head, now remembering what he was talking about. "Sorry! I got hungry!" he said. Meta Knight shook his head in disbelief at Kirby's unlimited capabilities for hunger. "Welp," Pikachu interfered, "Let's eat!"

...

King Dedede and his minions were walking through a forest nearby Watchog's cave. Watchog specifically warned the two outsiders to stay away from the tall grass, especially the ones that shook. He knew that those two didn't know anything about wild Pokemon encounters, so he decided not to risk it and warned them beforehand. They were walking for a few minutes until coincidentally they saw a shaking bush a few feet from where they were. "Remember what I told you guys," Watchog warned. "Just keep walking." As they continued to walk past it, it rustled some more, grabbing the curiosity of none other than King Dedede. He stopped and turned around to face the bush. Watchog and Escargoon looked back at the penguin king, now realizing what he wanted to do. "What did I just say!?" Watchog told him sternly. In the short time he had spent with him, he learned that King Dedede was a stubborn penguin. A very stubborn one, indeed.

Very quietly, he tiptoed over to the rustling bush and looked inside it. There, he found a small yellow creature with four blue eyes looking up at the penguin king. The creature panicked to see the enormous size of King Dedede and jumped up from fright. "Must run away!" it squeaked as it scurried away in the opposite direction. King Dedede found it amusing and laughed. "That lil' bug didn't stand a chance, anyway!" he concluded as he laughed some more. Watchog face-palmed and sighed impatiently. "Let's go already," he insisted.

Before King Dedede could say anything, the ground began to shake slightly. Watchog shielded his eyes as he noticed where the cause of the shaking was coming from, which was a big amount of yellow Pokemon – like the one they saw earlier – stampeding towards them. "Oh, no! Joltik!" Watchog shrieked in panic. "Jol-what?" King Dedede and Escargoon both asked in confusion. Watchog turned to them with a scared look on his face. "Those guys are Electric types, and they look mad! We gotta go NOW!" Watchog said. He took one last glance at the approaching stampede, and to his misfortune saw that a Galvantula joined their party. Watchog shrieked at the top of his lungs and began to run as fast as his feet could take him, Escargoon following right behind him after he finally understood what was going on.

King Dedede decided to take this matter into his own hands and grasped his hammer tightly. He turned around and awaited the army of Joltik, but before he could do anything else, Escargoon and Watchog came back and dragged the heavy penguin king along with them. "Hey! Lemme go!" King Dedede protested. "I wanna fight those tick things!"

"No way!" Watchog said, breathless. "You'd die right away if they touched you, especially in _that_ mood." King Dedede thought for a while before giving in. He was surprisingly a fast runner for his size, especially after all those gourmet races he had with Kirby. _Kirby_, he thought. He hoped that that pink puffball wouldn't mess with his plan like he had done all the time in the past. He hoped that he didn't even know about his plan in the first place. But at the moment he was too busy running for his life to even begin worrying about the pink Star Warrior. The unlikely trio kept running all throughout the forest the whole morning, the army of angry bug Pokemon right on their tail. It certainly was something that you don't see happening every day.

Eventually, the trio managed to avoid the Joltik army by jumping into a nearby lake. "Joltik hate water," Watchog smirked as he told the other two. "They'll never catch us here." The Joltik army was crowded around the edge of the lake, the Galvantula observing from behind. All the Joltik were mad from their failed attempt of attacking the trio.

"We almost had them!" one Joltik said.

"It's no use anymore!" another one said.

"What are we going to do? We can't go in there!" The clamor of the Joltik army began to build up with disappointed remarks and angry statements. The Galvantula, who was listening to most of these remarks, decided to speak up.

"I have a suggestion," Galvantula said. "The bravest among you can go in the water and use Discharge." The Joltik shivered at the thought of just touching the water. They looked at each other nervously, wondering who was crazy enough to do it. All their lives, they have been taught to never come in contact in any way because it was a bad thing. It was like a taboo for their kind.

"I'll do it," a squeaky voice said from the very back of the crowd. All of the Joltik looked at the one who was going to risk his life, who was actually the Joltik that King Dedede encountered earlier. The other Joltik began whispering among each other about his "sudden bravery".

"I wish you the best of luck," Galvantula told him. Joltik confirmed with a nod and made his way to the edge of the lake, everyone else clearing a path for him.

Silent tension was built up each passing second as Joltik stared at the water below him. His reflection waved about, distorting his face. Joltik gulped and felt unsure of the task. _But someone has to do it_, he thought. _Now's my chance to prove to everyone that I am brave_. Taking a deep breath, he dived and splashed through the water. Some Joltik closed their eyes, expecting the worst to happen.

Joltik was deep in the water. He opened his eyes and was surprised that he was still alive. He looked around and realized that the water was so clear and beautiful. He was filled with sudden happiness from just beholding the water's mysterious beauty. However, he was quickly running out of breath and made his way up to the surface.

He gasped for air as he reached the surface of the water. All the Joltik cheered for Joltik's bravery. "Everything we know is a lie!" Galvantula said as he raised his arms up with a sort of happiness. Joltik looked at the crowd, gleaming from everyone's trust in him. The trio, however, were not as happy as they realized they were doomed and were going to die.

"I still have so much to live for!" Escargoon whined as he shed a tear. "I'm too young to die!"

"Well, it was nice knowing you guys," Watchog said as he nervously looked at the small Joltik who was going to end their lives soon.

King Dedede, however, didn't want to give up that easily. "You're all quitters!" he shouted at his minions. "We have to show that lil' critter who's boss!" He grasped his hammer tightly and swam towards Joltik. "Your majesty!" Escargoon called after him.

...

Everything happened too quickly. Before Joltik realized what happened, he found himself flying off into thin air. He then felt a pain on his rear, and then remembered that the penguin king knocked him out of the water with his gigantic hammer. Joltik then felt his heart break when he realized that he managed to prove something that wasn't what he wanted to prove at all. His sense of failure was more powerful that it overcame his throbbing physical pain, and he shed a tear as he kept thinking about it.

Everyone in the yellow tree house were busy eating the fruit Kirby managed to find (which was more than the bag could handle), when suddenly something crashed through the ceiling and crash-landed on the little table Pikachu and Jigglypuff have built. The sudden entrance took everyone in surprise as they jumped back. They stared at the spot where the thing crashed, still in shock. Pikachu then recognized the thing as a Joltik and ran up to him.

"Hey," Pikachu called as he tugged at Joltik. "Hey, man. Are you okay?" He tugged him some more until Joltik uttered something inaudible. Pikachu sighed in relief. "Good, he's still conscious," he said. He picked up Joltik and went to put him on a hay pile, everyone else following behind.

"Kirby," Pikachu said. "Give me that Oran Berry you have there, please." Kirby looked down at the blue berry he was holding and felt conflicted. He never gave up his food for anything, but before he could decide on what to do with it, Meta Knight already snatched it away from him and gave it to Pikachu. Kirby pouted and stubbornly sat in a far-away corner of the room.

"C'mon, guy," Pikachu insisted. "Eat this berry." Joltik managed to open an eye and looked at the Oran Berry. Slowly, he nibbled on the berry, and he instantly began to feel better. "…Thank…you…" Joltik managed to say before he closed his eyes. Then there was silence, which made Joltik fall asleep.

Jigglypuff looked up to where a big hole now was on the middle of the roof. "We better fix that up soon," she thought out loud. She turned to the others and announced that she will go get some wood for that hole. Meta Knight turned towards her. "I will help you," he offered. Jigglypuff smiled in agreement, and then they both made their way out of the tree house.

"Poor little guy," Pikachu said as he looked at Joltik. Then his fists tightened as he grew furious. "Who would do such a thing to an innocent little fella?" Kirby made his way back next to Pikachu. "I hope it wasn't Dedede," he said worriedly. Unfortunately for them, it was his fault.


	5. Jealous? No!

Chapter 5: Jealous? No!

"We just need a little bit more wood," Jigglypuff said as she stacked the bunch of planks in a neat pile. Meta Knight chopped up another log with Galaxia, forming perfect rectangular pieces. Jigglypuff gave him a thumbs up. "Okay!" she smiled. She was about to carry the pile when Meta Knight quickly put a hand on her shoulder. "Please," he said. "Allow me to carry it." Jigglypuff smiled and blushed at his chivalrous manner. "Why, thank you," Jigglypuff giggled. Meta Knight smiled back, even though he wasn't sure that she could sense his smile. But even if he didn't want to smile, he just couldn't help it. When he was around her, he felt lighter inside and – happy. Yes, that's it. He felt happy, an emotion he does not quite experience often, and he welcomed it with open arms. He put away Galaxia and carried the pile of planks as they made their way onto the trail.

They were walking side by side down a dirt path that coincidentally led directly to the tree house. The two of them were enjoying the serenity of the peaceful sounds of nature. There were birds flying around, chirping and such. There was also a faint sound of a waterfall not too far away. Jigglypuff always liked taking walks around the forest, and just listening to these nature sounds filled her with happiness. She couldn't help herself as she hummed along to a song she knew by heart.

Meta Knight immediately noticed the humming and turned towards Jigglypuff. Her eyes were closed and she was slightly swaying from side to side along the melody. He didn't know Jigglypuff's voice was even more amazing when in a melodious form, even if she was only humming. He felt hypnotized to the sweet serenity of the tune she was imitating perfectly. He couldn't look away; rather he kept looking and admiring her.

When Jigglypuff finished her humming, she opened her eyes to find Meta Knight's eyes looking at hers, now glowing pink. She slightly gasped at the unexpected sight, but Meta Knight didn't twitch. After a few moments his eyes reverted back to their original yellow color, capturing Jigglypuff's attention.

"You have a very beautiful voice, Jigglypuff," Meta Knight said in awe. Jigglypuff blushed at the complement and looked down. "Thank you," she giggled.

"It must be even more charming when you sing."

Jigglypuff looked at Meta Knight with uncertainty. "No," she said in a sort of pouty tone. "It puts others to sleep if they listen to me sing." She looked down again, feeling sad that no one would be able to listen to her beautiful songs. Pikachu tried to listen to her sing once, but he ended up falling asleep for a whole day. She could understand it was supposed to be that way, but every time she thought about it, it just managed to upset her more and more.

Meta Knight couldn't believe it. "Why?"

"It is like a side effect. It's actually normal. But…"

"But?"

"It would be nice if… someone could listen to me sing for once, without falling asleep before finishing my song…" Jigglypuff felt her emotions ready to burst as small tears began edging off of her eyes, remembering all the times Pokemon around her fell asleep the instant she began to sing. Meta Knight looked at Jigglypuff, sensing a shift in her mood. He put a hand on her soft shoulder while holding the pile of planks under his other arm and tried to comfort her. "Maybe you can try it out with me," he suggested. Jigglypuff looked at him with big shining eyes. "I don't know…" she said. Meta Knight half-smiled at her, knowing that she couldn't see it but smiled anyway. "It doesn't hurt to try," he said hopefully. Jigglypuff thought it over, her eyes still fixed on Meta Knight's. Finally she nodded in agreement, and they both got out of the dirt path and into the leafy forest a few feet to their left. They stopped next to a tall and broad tree that offered plenty of shade for the two of them.

Meta Knight put down the planks next to him and then sat down. Jigglypuff stood in front of him, shifting from one side to another, still unsure of the whole idea. Of course she loved to sing, but she didn't think Meta Knight would pull through and will fall asleep for sure. She put her tiny hands together and rubbed them nervously, her eyes slightly quivering. "I am ready whenever you are," Meta Knight said, holding his hands together politely as he waited for Jigglypuff to begin.

Jigglypuff closed her eyes, thinking of a song to sing. Once she made her decision, she took a deep breath and opened her eyes. There was silence for a moment, until Jigglypuff's melodic voice began to fill up the forest.

It was so tender and soothing, and at the same time filled with such passion that it took Meta Knight by surprise. He opened his eyes wide, leaning in closer to perceive more of her beautiful music. He thought her singing was by far the best he has ever heard and will hear in his entire life. Jigglypuff now closed her eyes as she got carried away in her own song. She sung about friendship blossoming into true love. This was one of her favorite songs; she knew it all by heart the moment she heard it when she and Pikachu were walking next to an ocean in the Kanto region. That was many years ago, back when they were an Igglybuff and a Pichu. She heard a group of Luvdisc sing it when they were happily swimming about.

Jigglypuff remembered every word, since she hasn't really sung that song in such a long time. She was filled with happiness, remembering how it felt like to sing out loud, and no longer cared about her "curse". This was like letting go of all her worries and everything of the like. She was so into it that she even began to dance a little, her eyes still closed. Meta Knight was so intrigued by Jigglypuff's singing and dancing, and even more that he hasn't fallen asleep. Her singing didn't affect him that way at all, and he was glad; he just got goose bumps from how good her singing was.

A few moments later, Jigglypuff finished her song. She was smiling widely as she opened her eyes again. She turned towards Meta Knight, and was surprised that he has not fallen asleep. His eyes changed to a blue color as he clapped at her talent. "Well done, Jigglypuff!" he said as he got up. "Your singing was… amazing." Jigglypuff looked down, trying to hide her blushing face. "Thank you," she said. "You must have a lot of endurance to stay awake, huh?" she giggled. Meta Knight's eyes went back to their original color as he walked over to Jigglypuff. "Actually, it did not make me sleepy in any way," he said calmly. "I enjoyed every second of it."

They were like this, smiling and staring at each other for what seemed like hours. They were glad they had each other's company, and Jigglypuff was even happier that Meta Knight had encouraged her to sing; it helped her out a lot. She began to grow a new kind of feeling towards him, but she couldn't quite put a finger on it. Then she realized that they were staring at each other for a long time, and broke the stare as she blushed madly once again and coughed a bit from the awkwardness.

"We better go, uh, fix that hole before something else happens, hee hee…" she said shyly. Meta Knight smiled as his eyes flashed pink for a brief second. He turned around and carried the pile of planks and resumed the walk with Jigglypuff back to the tree house.

They were having a light conversation until Meta Knight suddenly stopped in his tracks. Jigglypuff looked at him with confusion. "What is it, Meta Knight?" she asked. Meta Knight remained quiet as he tried to make out the voices that were coming from ahead. His eyes widened as he deduced that those voices belong to no other than King Dedede and Escargoon.

Meta Knight gently but quickly grabbed Jigglypuff's hand. "Hold on tight," he told her. Jigglypuff was still confused, but then amazed when she saw Meta Knight's cape transform into wings, and before she knew it, they were flying towards the top of a tree. They gently landed between its leaves. Meta Knight peeked out from the leaves, Jigglypuff still unsure of his sudden urgency of hiding. She decided to peek and find out for herself, and noticed a big blue penguin, a snail, and a Watchog. "Who are they?" she whispered, referring to the two other travelers.

"Those two are King Dedede and Escargoon," Meta Knight whispered back. "They are the ones Kirby and I are after. We have briefly mentioned them to you and your brother." Jigglypuff then remembered Meta Knight mentioning the king when they first met. _So this is their king, huh_? she thought.

"See? I told y'all I can take that army by myself! But NOOO! You didn't let me at 'em!" King Dedede boasted. Except for him, the other two looked like they had an unfortunate encounter with electricity. "Easy for you to say," muttered Escargoon. "You didn't get fried by all those bugs!" King Dedede put his hands on his hips. "Well, I did _my_ part in fightin' back. All you guys did is panic and cry like little sissies!" Watchog and Escargoon were too angry and physically hurt to start another argument with the king, so they didn't speak anymore of the matter.

Instead, Watchog changed the subject to a more interesting one. "So, your highness," he mocked. "What are we gonna do now? Y'know, about your domination plan?" King Dedede's facial expression changed to excitement once he remembered why he was in the Pokemon world in the first place. "Ah!" he exclaimed as he snapped his fingers. "We're gonna try to look for the strongest and most useful Pokey-mon around here!" He turned towards Watchog. "Do ya know the perfect guy for the job?" Watchog thought for a moment. "Well, there's another cave not too far from here. There's some Dragon-Type Pokemon in there, particularly Axew. We can train it to its full potential and it can level up to be a powerful Haxorus!"

"Hold up. Level up?" King Dedede asked, ignoring the last part of Watchog's sentence. Watchog face-palmed. "I thought I have explained this already," he muttered. "You have," Escargoon confirmed. Watchog began to re-explain to the king about evolution, then their words could no longer be made out because they have already left.

Meta Knight helped Jigglypuff as they got down from the tree. Jigglypuff was a little scared at the mention of a Haxorus. Meta Knight turned toward Jigglypuff and asked what a Haxorus was. "It's a big green Dragon-Type Pokemon with a lot of powerful potential. I mean, it's enormous! Well, I might say that because I'm short, but it really is huge! It can be a big and dangerous threat to all of us if it's reckless, and especially if it is manipulated for evildoings." Her pupils shrunk at the thought of her own description of this scary Pokemon. Meta Knight nodded, understanding how intimidating this dragon can be. "I can draw a picture of it if you'd like?" Jigglypuff added. Meta Knight smiled. "That would be nice," he responded, remembering her amazing artistic ability. He looked out at the horizon, the sun about to go in. "We better get home quickly before it gets dark," he said. Jigglypuff began to walk, but Meta Knight's hand on her shoulder stopped her. "Would you like to fly over there?" he asked. Jigglypuff's eyes lit up, excited to experience flight again. She nodded excitedly as she went over to Meta Knight. He gently held her hips, causing Jigglypuff to feel a tingly sensation inside her. She found herself blushing and tried to rub her cheeks to get rid of the blush, but it only made it worse.

Meta Knight noticed Jigglypuff rubbing her face and was curious. "Are you alright?" he asked with concern in his voice. She felt a bit more embarrassed and thought it was safe to not face him. "Uhh, yeah. I'm just a bit tired," she answered, thinking it was believable. Meta Knight nodded, and proceeded to lift them up into the air all the way home.

…

"…And then he whacked me with that big ol' hammer and it sent me FLYIN'!" Joltik said excitedly in his squeaky voice. "And then I crash-landed here. Sorry about your table and your roof, by the way…"

"Naw, it's cool," Pikachu smiled. "It's understandable; it wasn't your fault. We can fix it up soon."

"And thanks again for helping me feel better."

"No problem, dude!"

Kirby was still a little upset about not being able to eat his Oran Berry, but at the same time he knew it was for the best; he just couldn't get over it. Kirby looked out the small window of the tree house and saw Meta Knight and Jigglypuff with a pile of planks flying in the air. "Hey, they're back!" Kirby announced. Pikachu and Joltik got off of the hay pile and walked to the middle of the room to wait for their arrival.

A few seconds later, Meta Knight and Jigglypuff whooshed in and gently landed. Meta Knight gently let go of Jigglypuff, quickly brushing his gloved hands off of her hips. Jigglypuff blushed a little, but tried to brush it off and thanked Meta Knight for the ride. "My pleasure," he responded. Kirby felt something was going on between them two, and he smirked a little. Jigglypuff noticed this and her eyes widened a bit as if she knew what Kirby was thinking about. She changed her attention to Joltik so she wouldn't feel awkward another time. "Oh, Joltik!" she said, "You're feeling better!" She brushed his furry head, feeling glad that he wasn't hurt anymore.

"Yup!" Joltik said. "Thank you all for such nice hospitality." Everyone smiled at the adorable Joltik. "No problem, buddy," Pikachu said. He then went to take the wooden pile of planks from Meta Knight. "Thanks guys," he said. "I got this." He took a small rock-and-stick hammer and some nails from another wooden box and went on the roof to fix the hole.

Jigglypuff went over to the same box and took out a hammer and some nails of her own and proceeded to fix the broken table. Surprisingly, it wasn't severely broken; it just needed a few pieces to be put back together again. In a few minutes, she was done and placed it on the middle of the room. Meta Knight and Kirby were surprised at how fast it took her to fix the table, and it even looked brand new. Jigglypuff looked out the window, and noticed that the sun already vanished behind the mountains. "Do you mind if you sleep here for tonight?" she asked Joltik. He jumped up happily. "Not at all!" he said. "I like sleepovers!" Jigglypuff giggled and went to make him another hay bed. Joltik went over with Jigglypuff and they passed the time talking and laughing. Jigglypuff felt like a little kid again, especially when she was hanging out with one. Meanwhile, Meta Knight was sitting on his own pile, staring at the two carefully. Luckily neither of them noticed Meta Knight, so he just kept on staring, something building up inside him. He didn't know what it was, but he thought it wasn't important. Kirby noticed Meta Knight's staring, and he smirked some more. He knew what was going on, but he kept to himself; he wanted his theory to be confirmed later.

A few moments later, Pikachu came back with his hammer and some leftover nails. He removed his blue goggles and wiped his sweaty forehead. "Whew!" he said in exhaustion. "I'm tired! How about you guys?" Everyone answered yes, and they got into their beds. Then Jigglypuff got up and took out another blanket for Joltik. "Here you go!" she said. "Thanks, Jiggs!" Joltik squeaked. "Goodnight everybody!" he said. Everyone answered except Meta Knight. That feeling wouldn't leave him alone; it was biting his head off. The more he stared at Jigglypuff with Joltik, he felt weird. His attention was completely on them that he didn't realize that they forgot to tell Kirby and Pikachu about King Dedede's latest plan. There was a moment of silence, but was broken with the excited whispers coming from Jigglypuff and Joltik. It was like they were really having a sleepover. Meta Knight couldn't sleep, even though the excited pair was not making a lot of noise.

This went on for a few hours. Meta Knight was amazed that Jigglypuff and Joltik still had so much energy in them, while he was suffering from a semi-sleepless night. His eyes felt so tired, but strangely he didn't want to go to sleep just yet. He was facing the wall, so no one can notice he was awake. Then to his surprise, a few minutes later he heard Jigglypuff's recognizable snoring and Joltik's. He felt like he could finally sleep, but instead he turned around still lying down to look at Jigglypuff. She was facing his direction, the moon making her face glow. It made his heart jump for some odd reason. Then he noticed Joltik leaning against her, and he felt his fists tighten. Why was he feeling like this? Was he jealous of a little boy? No, it can't be! _That is silly_, he thought as he kept staring at the two Pokemon. A little voice in his head told him repeatedly that he was jealous , and he tried shaking his head to get rid of it. But it was no use; it was still there. Now he _really_ couldn't sleep. _What's wrong with me? I can't be jealous! _Meta Knight turned back to face the wall, trying to sleep, but was impossible due to the little voice in his head. He sighed quitetly. _Insomnia,_ he thought, _here I go_.


	6. You Caught an Axew!

Chapter 6: You Caught an Axew!

Another bright morning greeted the Pokemon world. Well, all of it except Meta Knight. He didn't manage to sleep well and suffered a bit from insomnia. His eyes were tired and his body begged for sleep. He was really exhausted. He laid on his hay pile face-up, concentrating on the ceiling. He noticed the spot where the hole was, and it reminded him of Joltik. His stomach knotted up at the thought of that furry yellow boy. But he wasn't quite sure why he felt such hatred towards him. Then he remembered how Joltik leaned against Jigglypuff at night when they were sleeping, and he twitched at the thought. Thinking that he needed to step out of the house, he snuck out and flew on the roof, the sun's rays gleaming on his mask.

He laid down and absorbed the sunlight as best as he could, trying to clear his thoughts to relax his tension. As he was on the verge to complete bliss, he heard someone in the tree house. Out of curiosity, he peeked through a hole that Pikachu did not cover up when fixing the hole. He saw Kirby walking around, most likely desperate to eat something. Meta Knight sighed, and turned away before Kirby saw him. He decided to go back in to not let Kirby wander off again. Everyone else was still sound asleep. Kirby saw Meta Knight and waved at him. "Good morning!" he said. Meta Knight raised a finger to his mask where his lips are to shush him. "Good morning, Kirby," he whispered.

Just then, Kirby's stomach growled. Kirby rubbed it gently, looking hopefully at Meta Knight to see if he got the message. Meta Knight sighed. "I will go with you to find food," he said.

"Can I come along, too?"

Both puffballs turned around to see Joltik wide awake, his eyes sparkling innocently. "Okay!" Kirby said. Meta Knight nodded quickly. "But we must return soon," he said. "We do not want to keep our friends worried." With that said, they took the potato sack and silently made their way out of the tree house to commence their little scavenger hunt.

The forest was very peaceful. The sun was very warm today, and a slight breeze was in the air. It would have been more peaceful if it wasn't for Kirby and Joltik's yapping. They were talking nonstop, Meta Knight following behind with the potato sack, not bothering to join in the conversation. They have found some apples and berries, and they have even found some lemonade and water bottles that Pokemon trainers have accidentally dropped on their journey, but they didn't seem to mind where they came from. Meta Knight has already said that what they had was enough, but Kirby and Joltik just ignored him and kept looking for more grub, even though the sack was literally overflowing of it.

A few more minutes passed until Meta Knight was fed up with the boys' ignorance and stopped walking. "Kirby," he said sternly. Kirby and Joltik stopped talking and turned around. "What's wrong, Meta Knight?" Kirby asked.

"We have been out of the tree house for too long now. We must go back."

"But we still don't have enough—"

"Now."

"B..but.."

"Pikachu and Jigglypuff must be worried by now of our whereabouts. We must go back."

Kirby was a little hesitant, but he knew Meta Knight was right. He respected him, and that meant that he has not ever disobeyed him. He looked at Joltik and signaled with his head to go back. Joltik nodded and they both silently followed the masked knight. Meta Knight was leading the group back and was somewhat relieved that they can finally go back. A few moments later, Kirby and Joltik continued with their yapping nonsense as if nothing has happened. Meta Knight rolled his eyes at their childish behavior and did his best to ignore them.

Minutes later, the trio finally arrived at the tree house. They found Pikachu trying to yank Jigglypuff's blanket away, but she was holding onto it tightly, her face in a bothered expression and her eyes still closed. Pikachu turned around to see his friends with food. "Hey, good morning, guys," Pikachu waved. "Thanks for bringing over some food."

Meta Knight nodded as he set the sack in the middle of the room, Kirby and Joltik noisily following behind. He turned his attention to Jigglypuff and smiled behind his mask. She was definitely not a morning person. He didn't notice that Kirby and Joltik were already getting a head start eating breakfast, still amidst in their conversation of what seemed to be about rainbows.

Meta Knight went over to the struggling Pikachu. "I just can't wake her up today!" he complained.

Meta Knight thought for a moment. "Have you tried tickling her?" he suggested.

Pikachu thought about it. "Hey, that just might work!" he said hopefully. He stopped pulling on Jigglypuff's blanket and walked over to her side and started tickling her. It looked like he was playing the piano on her. Jigglypuff began to smile, eyes still closed, then she started to squirm a bit. "It's working," Pikachu whispered excitedly. He spoke too soon, however, because Jigglypuff was not amused to the point where she carelessly slapped the person tickling her. It knocked Pikachu off guard, stumbling to the other side of the room. Meta Knight jumped back a bit, his eyes wide open with surprise. _Whoa_, he thought. However, Pikachu's loud stumbling finally woke her up. She yawned as she stretched out her tiny arms. Her eyes opened up and looked at Pikachu rubbing his sore cheek. She gasped and went over to her brother.

"Oh my gosh! I'm sorry!" she apologized desperately as she helped him up. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Pikachu assured her, a little embarrassed that her powerful slap made him tumble like that. "It's nothing."

After a moment Jigglypuff began to giggle at herself. Her sweet giggling rang on the four walls of the tree house. She couldn't believe she slapped her own brother; she really _was_ a heavy sleeper. After a moment Pikachu started to laugh at this incident, which somehow healed up his throbbing cheek.

Jigglypuff turned around and saw Meta Knight standing there attentively. "Oh!" she said with a warm smile. "Good morning, Meta Knight!"

"Good morning, Jigglypuff," he replied in a soothing voice. He was truly amused at what happened just now that it made him forget how grumpy he was earlier. He also noticed that he didn't feel all that tired anymore.

"Let's eat!" Pikachu said. "I'm hungry!" He scurried over to join the other boys having breakfast. Jigglypuff followed behind, signaling Meta Knight to join them with her hand. Meta Knight smiled as he went and sat down next to her to eat. "I'll draw that Haxorus for you today," she told him. "Very well," Meta Knight said as he slipped a berry under his mask to take a bite of it. A delicious sound of sinking teeth could be heard from him, and when he took out his hand the berry was gone.

"What?" Pikachu asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Ooh!" Jigglypuff chimed. "Yesterday, Meta Knight and I overheard King Dedede and two other guys talking about leveling up an Axew to a Haxorus." She looked down a bit. "I guess we forgot to tell you guys… Sorry about that."

Pikachu was still absorbing the information when Joltik suddenly bursted out in excitement. "Holy Miltank! A Haxorus!? That's a freakin' big ol' Pokemon! He's gonna destroy us all! Oh my gosh!" He was still trembling after his sudden outburst, breathing quickly. "Wait a minute, who's King Dedede?"

"He's our king back in Dreamland," Kirby said. "He's planning to take over this world or something." Again, another outburst from Joltik commenced. "Whoa, really? Why'd he do that? He sounds mean, huh? Right? Huh? Huh? Am I right?"

"Calm down, guy!" Pikachu said. "No need to get worked up, now!" Joltik backed up a bit from embarrassment, realizing he was a bit rude. "Sorry, guys," he said. "I do that a lot."

"Silly boy," Jigglypuff chuckled. Everyone but Meta Knight laughed. He thought that Joltik was annoying. Like, _really_ annoying. He just couldn't stand him for some reason. _Cursed Joltik_, he thought as he tried to finish up his breakfast.

…

King Dedede and the others were already starting off their day by going to the cave Watchog has mentioned yesterday. It wasn't much of a walk there, and Escargoon noticed that there was civilization in this world. "People live here, too?" he asked out loud. "Yep," Watchog replied. "Most of them are Pokemon trainers. They catch Pokemon and train them in battles and stuff. They depend on us, and sometimes we depend on them." Escargoon looked back at the house they just passed by, catching a glimpse of an old man watching television.

They stopped at the edge of a small pond. "Okay, fellahs," Watchog said, "We have two options here. We either go through the tall grass, or we swim across this pond. Either way, we are most likely to come across a wild Pokemon. What do you wanna do?"

King Dedede and Escargoon looked at each other and agreed to go through the grass. "But I should lead the way," King Dedede said as he wielded his hammer in a tight grasp. "There ain't no Pokey Man too tough for me!"

"Whatever," Watchog said. "Lead the way, your highness."

The first few seconds they were doing pretty good. The three of them were looking around, walking slowly to see if there was any creature lurking in the grass. Suddenly, they encounter a Azumarill. "Yahh! Fear me!" it hissed as it posed in a round house kick attack. King Dedede laughed at it. "Aw, you're so cute!" he mocked. Azumarill got mad and fired Water Gun on the king. King Dedede wasn't laughing anymore as it was drowned in water. King Dedede looked down at the Azumarill and decided to kick it. He kicked it so hard, it disappeared in the sky in the form of a star as it screamed. "Heh," King Dedede smirked as he resumed to lead the others into the cave.

There were no more encounters as they finally reached the cave. "Here it is," Watchog announced. "Mistralton Cave." Then he smacked his forehead. "Aw, man! I forgot that you can't see anything in there! We need some sort of light to look for an Axew."

King Dedede waved his hand at him. "We don't need no light," he said. "We'll just call one of 'em out here!"

"Good luck with that," Watchog muttered. King Dedede stood in the middle of the entrance and cupped his mouth with his hands. "Hey!" he shouted. "One of you Axews come outta here! We need ya for somethin' important!" There was no answer. "Hey! Did ya hear me!?" he called again. They heard a faint growl as a response. King Dedede grew impatient as he picked up his hammer and went in the cave.

"Your majesty!" Escargoon called after him. "What do you think you're doing?" But it was too late to stop him. They just stood there, waiting to see what would happen. They heard the faint familiar sound of King Dedede's whiny voice, followed by a roar. Escargoon jumped and hid behind Watchog. "Oh, dear!" he said. "I wonder what's happening…"

Then they heard their highness's hammer slams echoing throughout the cave, followed by more roars. They were each interrupted with more slamming. Then they heard another unfamiliar sound of what seemed like shrieks. "Oh," Watchog said, "The Woobat are getting involved." They heard shouts, slams, roars, and shrieks. It went on for a few more seconds until a final slam silenced everything. Then they heard footsteps heading out of the cave, and it revealed to belong to a bruised King Dedede. He was dragging out a defeated Axew. "Is this it?" he asked wearily. Watchog nodded in approval. "I gotta say I'm impressed," he said. "I didn't think you'd make it out alive."

"Well I proved ya wrong!" King Dedede said proudly. "Now we gotta wake this guy up." He brought up Axew in front of his face and shook it. "Wake up!" he shouted. Watchog stopped him and told him that he needed food to feel better, so they went to the forest, still not encountering any other wild Pokemon, and looked for an Oran berry.

Moments later, the trio and Axew went back to the cave and waited for the Axew to feel better. Once it did, the Axew demanded where his exact location was. Watchog explained the plan, King Dedede frequently interrupting to add more to the explanation.

"… so you are our main man," Watchog said. "We help you level up to be a Haxorus, and you'll help us take over this world."

"Yeah! And the best part is I'll be the king!" King Dedede added.

"That's not helping," Escargoon muttered.

"Aw, shut up!" King Dedede snapped.

"So," Watchog continued, "Will you do it? You'll get a sweet reward, but don't ask what it is 'cause we don't know yet."

Axew stood up. "No! I'm not working for _any_one!"

Watchog stood up, too, his tail raised in alarm. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh _yeah_!?"

"_Yeah_!"

Watchog's eyes then turned a bright yellow as he omitted a ray at Axew. It caught him in a confusing trance. "You will do it, even if it's the last thing you'll do," Watchog whispered to his ear. "You will obey our every command, and you will not have a say in this. Is this clear?"

"…Okay…"

"Awesome."

Watchog's eyes became normal as he stopped his move. Axew shook his head and blinked a few times. "Where am I?" he asked.

"You're in my cave, and we are your trainers," Watchog replied. "You will help us gain world domination."

"Sounds good to me!" Axew said as he smirked evil-y. "I'm ready whenever you are."

"Cool. Now go out there and fight as many wild Pokemon you see. Come back when you're really drained, and we'll heal you up."

"Yes sir!" Axew said, then trotted out of the cave to do what he was asked to do.

"Bravo!" Escargoon clapped. "That was quite impressive."

"Thanks," Watchog said as he crossed his arms proudly. "It took a lot of practice, but now I got it down right." Watchog took out an apple and took a bite. He felt like at the moment he was in charge. Then this gave him an idea: what if he could rule the Pokemon world? Then everyone would finally respect him, and he has ultimate power at the palm of his paw. This would be perfect! Why didn't he think of this before? He was too caught up in his own thoughts, munching on his apple as he hatched up the perfect plan.

…

Kirby, Joltik, and Pikachu were playing outside, while Jigglypuff was sketching out a Haxorus, Meta Knight sitting next to her on the couch. She remembered seeing one a few years back when a Pokemon trainer was challenging a Gym Leader. She was so frightened ever since that each time she would look around their other tree houses to see if there wasn't one hiding there. Luckily her little habit was no more, but she sometimes can't help herself to worry about it. Pikachu has told her before that she shouldn't over-worry about it, but it's no use; it'll just keep bothering her for a long time.

Meanwhile, Meta Knight was paying attention to every little detail Jigglypuff was putting in her sketch. He followed the wooden pencil in each direction it went, swaying back and forth, up and down on the paper. His eyes turned green at concentrating on the pencil's dashing movements.

Moments later, Jigglypuff was done. She handed the sketchbook over to Meta Knight and told him that's about the way it looks like. Meta Knight's eyes remained green as he studied the picture. The Haxorus was posing in an intimidating manner, its claws striking the air as it snapped its jaws. Jigglypuff noticed Meta Knight's eye color has changed again, and it's been bugging her to ask why it happens.

"This looks very accurate," Meta Knight stated. He handed back the sketchbook. Jigglypuff thanked him and mentioned that she has seen one before from far away. "You have a very good memory, then," Meta Knight said. Jigglypuff smiled. "Thank you," she said. She looked down as she was shuffling with her hands with uncertainty. Meta Knight noticed this and asked her what was wrong.

"Oh, it's just… Can I ask you something?"

"Of course. What is it?"

"Well, I've noticed that your eyes… change color."

"Mhmm."

"May I ask why that happens?"

"It is just a way of showing how my mood changes," he said plainly as if it was a known fact. Jigglypuff nodded, now understanding this concept. They spent that moment sitting there without saying anything for a while. Then she apologized for asking. "Maybe it was a bit uncomfortable for you to answer."

"Not at all," he said. "Curiosity is something that we cannot simply avoid."

"That's true," Jigglypuff agreed.

Then there was more silence. The afternoon was quickly transforming into sunset, and the two puffballs happen to have a perfect view of it as they were facing the open window that showed the grassy fields before them. They silently watched the sun go down, in its entire splendor. Meta Knight then felt tired from the restless night he suffered, but he didn't want to fall asleep on the couch. As he struggled to keep his eyes open, he then felt something soft leaning against him. He shifted his view to see Jigglypuff sleeping against him, smiling as she snoozed quietly. The sight made him feel strange. _She must be tired from staying up late as well_, he thought. He kept staring at her, his eyes still struggling to remain open. He began to admire her innocence and her free spirit, wondering how she was always positive. He also sort of wanted to let this moment pass. Still gazing at her face, he then thought that taking a nap wasn't such a bad idea, so he got himself comfortable as he somewhat snuggled up with Jigglypuff. He felt all warm inside as he closed his eyes. He finally felt that this time he can rest without any sort of interruptions.

When it was nighttime, the boys came back in and noticed the two sleeping puffballs on the couch. Pikachu proceeded to put a blanket over them and decided to not wake them up. Everyone else went to their own beds, wishing each other a good night. As Kirby lay on his little bed, he smiled widely in satisfaction. _I knew it_, he thought before drifting off to sleep.


	7. Training at its Finest

Chapter 7: Training at its Finest

While the tree house settlers were resting that night, Axew was just returning from his exhausting training, all beaten up but still full of energy. Watchog and the others were waiting for him to replenish his strength.

"Good job out there, boy," Watchog said like a proud father, "You deserve a well-deserved rest." He handed him two Oran berries and a bottle of water. "Thanks," Axew said wearily as he wiped the sweat off of his forehead. He went and sat down on one of the edges of the cave and ate his meal.

Throughout the day, Axew had battled against many Basculin, Patrat, Pidove, and has even battled a Wobbuffet. That last one was tough; he had a lot of endurance. Either way, Axew miraculously managed to beat him. Axew felt his muscles get stronger, and realized he has never worked out this hard in his entire life. He felt completely exhausted as he fixed up a spot for him to sleep and fell asleep right away after wishing everyone a good night. Even though he was hypnotized to join forces with the bad guys, he was actually not a bad one.

"So what are we going to do tomorrow?" asked Escargoon. "The same deal again," Watchog said. "And again and again and again, until we reach our goal." Watchog was determined to get through this plan in order to get his plan started as well. But he knew he had to be patient, and surprisingly, he could handle it, especially with that pesky penguin. He didn't mind Escargoon that much, but that King Dedede got on his nerves. _He'll be the first one to go_, he thought as he glared at the said king before snuggling up to sleep the night away.

…

Meta Knight found himself amidst soft light pink clouds among a red-orange sky. He looked at the clouds and saw bubbles trapped in them. They also smelled of the sweet scent of cotton candy. "What is this place?" he thought out loud. Just then, he heard a familiar giggle coming from behind him. He turned around and found none other than Jigglypuff skipping around a few feet from him. She stopped and turned to look at him. She giggled again as she skipped towards him. Meta Knight found himself running to meet up with her. He found himself smiling as he finally held both of Jigglypuff's tiny soft hands. They began to spin around, both of them laughing and looking at each other the whole time.

They finally stopped, both of them trying to catch their breath. After a moment, Jigglypuff looks back at Meta Knight and inches closer. It felt like he stopped breathing a bit as her face was centimeters away from his. Jigglypuff lowers her eyes as she plans on what to do. "Kiss me," she whispered in a sweet tone. She began to grab Meta Knight's mask and lift it up, Meta Knight's heart racing past his limits as he waited on what was about to happen, until…

He opened his eyes. He found himself back in the tree house, the sunshine letting itself in. _It was all a dream…_ he thought, his heart still racing from the dream's suspense. He couldn't believe he just dreamt that. Everything from yesterday came back to him as he remembered he slept the night away on the couch with Jigglypuff.

_Jigglypuff._ He looked to his right and saw her there, and then he realized they were _really_ snuggled up to each other. They pretty much spent the night _hugging_ each other. Meta Knight felt his face get hot, and he was thankful he had his mask on. His eyes were wide open as he still couldn't believe what just happened. He released himself a bit from Jigglypuff's hold and stood still, trying not to move anymore as to not disturb her, even though she had proved she is a heavy sleeper.

A few minutes later, Kirby woke up. He yawned loudly and turned around to find a surprised Meta Knight and a sleeping Jigglypuff on the couch. Kirby smiled widely at Meta Knight, knowing all along that there was something going on between them. Although Meta Knight knew that Kirby was a little boy and was a bit typical for them to act like that, he took it seriously at the moment and narrowed his eyes at him. Kirby rolled his eyes playfully as he got up and ate a Pecha berry he found sitting on the bottom of the potato sack.

Later, Jigglypuff woke up. She yawned sweetly and opened her eyes to find Meta Knight looking at her, their faces not too far apart. She was a bit surprised, until she looked down and noticed that she was holding on to Meta Knight's arm and sort of leaning against him. Quickly, she sat up straight and let go of him, blushing as she did so. She looked down at the floor, feeling very awkward at the moment. She found herself at loss of words, something that doesn't happen too often to her.

Meta Knight, who understood her completely since he felt that way as well, decided to be the first to speak up. "…Good morning," he said a bit shyly. Jigglypuff finally looked up at him, her eyes shimmering as her cheeks changed to a deep scarlet. "Good morning…" she responded with a small smile. She looked down again, wondering what to do next.

She didn't have to think about it much, because just then Pikachu and Joltik woke up. "G' morning, everyone," Pikachu announced as he stretched his arms out. Everyone responded with their own greeting. Just then, a Galvantula appeared on their front door. "Hello?" she called.

Everyone was surprised at the size of it. Kirby hid behind the potato sack, Jigglypuff clung on to Meta Knight's arm once again, and Pikachu jumped and backed himself up against the wall. Joltik, however, recognized the creature. "Mom?" he said.

"Joltik!" Galvantula cried. "I was worried about you! Ever since I heard word that you vanished, I went looking for you for days, asking around everywhere if they've seen you. We've all missed you so much, you have no idea!" Everyone else breathed a bit easier as they found out that Galvantula came in peace. Then they introduced themselves and were already looking forward to Joltik's departure.

"Aw!" Joltik complained in sudden realization. "That means I won't be helping you on your mission!"

"What are you talking about?" Galvantula said in alarm. "You are not going to be exposed to any more danger, young man! Besides, you have a lot of homework to do from the school days you've missed."

"Aw, man…" Joltik muttered as everyone laughed. Even though it was a little hard to say so, they were going to miss him. They said their good-byes and watched the two electric bugs go away.

"Thanks, guys!" Joltik squeaked as it rode on his mother's back. "I'll see you soon!" Everyone waved as they saw them disappear into the forest.

And then there were four. The place was a bit quieter without the presence of the spontaneously hyper Joltik, but some didn't mind. Meta Knight felt as if he was released from a punishment sent from the Underworld, but Kirby felt like he lost a playmate.

After a while, Pikachu brought up the topic about King Dedede and the whole Haxorus situation. "If they're going to pull that card out on all of us, I say we train as well," he said. "We got to be at our best physical ability if we want to stop them."

"How do we do it?" asked Kirby.

"We can set up some equipment or something."

"Won't that take a long time, though?" Jigglypuff asked.

Pikachu thought about it. "… I guess it will." He scratched his chin some more as he thought of another idea. "How about we go to a Pokemon Daycare?" he suggested. "They have lots of stuff there, and we can level up easily."

"But what if people see us?"

"There's people here?" Kirby asked.

"Yep," Pikachu said. "We live among civilized citizens, and most of them are people known as Pokemon Trainers, who catch almost any Pokemon they desire."

"If these trainers see us at this daycare, we are at risk of getting caught," Meta Knight added.

"Yeah, but I don't think we have another choice. We might as well take the risk, because that's all we've got for now."

Everyone nodded in agreement, thinking over their plan. They couldn't wait to get started, but they were also anxious of just thinking where their effort would lead to. They had to do their best if they want to succeed in defeating King Dedede and his plan of world domination. They decided to start away and packed a few things before leaving. It wasn't too far from the tree house, but they still had to be careful nonetheless for anyone waiting to catch them.

…

Watchog decided to go with Axew to see how he was progressing in his training. Today he encouraged the little dragon to fight a Water Type Pokemon, so they made their way up to a pond, finding the perfect spot to commence the training.

"Dive in," Watchog told him, and Axew did just that. He swam a few feet from the edge until he encountered a Goldeen. They made eye contact, which then led to the beginning of the battle.

Axew was first up when he used Mean Face, preventing Goldeen from escaping. Goldeen then used Horn Drill, missing Axew by just inches. He countered by using Scratch, barely getting Goldeen's left fin. It flinched a bit, but it did not give up that easily. It used Horn Drill once again, this time inflicting it completely on Axew's belly; a one-hit K.O. Axew let out a harsh cry as it floated on the water defeated. Goldeen smirked and swam away.

Watchog dived in and retrieved Axew. He didn't understand; he was doing so well yesterday. How could he not defeat that Goldeen? He listened for his heart beat and was relieved it was still there beating slowly. He held him until Axew opened his eyes. "Sorry…" he managed to say.

"It's okay," Watchog assured him, a bit worried. "Take a small break." Axew understood and closed his eyes to rest from the encounter. At the moment Watchog felt like a father worrying over his child, although he has never had one of his own before. He felt a bond between them – one of those unbreakable ones – and it made him feel special. He continued to kneel there, holding Axew close to him, until he decided to take him to the cave.

On his way over, he saw a group of creatures walking along the forest. He decided to take a closer look and crept up behind a bush. He recognized two of them as a Pikachu and a Jigglypuff, but he had no idea who the other two were. It was a curious sight to see: three puffballs and a yellow mouse strolling through the forest. He reminded himself to mention this to the other guys back at the cave as he quietly excused himself from his hideout.

…

"Did you guys hear that?" Jigglypuff asked as she heard a slight rustling sound in the forest, which happened to be when Watchog left. Pikachu told her not to worry about it as they continued on their way towards the daycare.

The sun was already high up in the sky when they arrived there. They didn't hear any other Pokemon playing in the daycare, which was convenient for them. It was also a bit strange, because there would always be the happy noises of playful Pokemon scampering about in the grass. They peeked through one of the windows, and to their surprise, they didn't find anyone in there. Now that was strange. There would always be an elderly woman at the front desk waiting to greet trainers who came to drop off their Pokemon. Pikachu told this to Kirby and Meta Knight, and they were also a bit suspicious at this. They decided it was okay for them to open the door. Pikachu did so and poked his head in. It was too quiet in there. He signaled the others to follow him, and made their way inside.

Since they were all rather short creatures, the room seemed tall and spacious, much more compared to the tree house. They looked around, noticing the PC still on. Kirby looked at it closer and noticed that a card was on the card slot. He called everyone else over to tell them about it. Pikachu was about to grab it when he stepped on some broken glass. He flinched and backed away from it. His foot started to bleed a bit, which made Jigglypuff faint instantly. Luckily Meta Knight caught her before she fell on the floor.

Pikachu looked up to where the glass came from and noticed that the window had no glass at all. He was a bit scared at this scenario. "Maybe we should get outta here," Pikachu suggested nervously. Kirby couldn't agree more as he raced for the door.

"Not so fast!" a voice from behind said. This took everyone by surprise. They turned around and saw a purple blob angrily standing on the desk. "Ditto…" Pikachu muttered to Kirby and Meta Knight. "Watch out with this guy," he added.

"Once you go in the daycare, there's no way out!" Ditto said. It then transformed into Pikachu. The Star Warriors couldn't believe what the purple blob just did. "Prepare to get owned!"

Ditto jumped at the group with Iron Tail. "Look out!" Pikachu yelled. Everyone dodged the attack as Ditto's tail cracked the floor with a loud crash. The loud noise startled Jigglypuff and woke her up, still in Meta Knight's arms. "What's going on?" she asked wearily. She turned toward the attacking Ditto in the form of Pikachu and was shocked and confused at the same time.

"That is Ditto," Meta Knight answered, clarifying Jigglypuff's thoughts. She was still a bit out of it as a sense of fear crept up on her spine. She held on tightly onto Meta Knight as he kept dodging Ditto's attacks.

Kirby was running around helplessly, trying not to get hit by Ditto's repeated Iron Tail move. _Wah!_ He thought. He jumped over and hid behind the front desk. He then noticed that under the desk was a yo-yo. The sudden memory of all the times he copied objects came to him, telling him to swallow the yo-yo. He inhaled it and jumped up as he copied its ability. Meta Knight saw his complete transformation. "He is now Yo-yo Kirby," he announced. Jigglypuff was surprised at Kirby's ability. Kirby took action as he threw the yo-yo at Ditto, hitting it from behind. Ditto turned around, now infuriated. It lunged toward Kirby, preparing another Iron Tail attack. Kirby countered it by swinging the yo-yo around its tail, tying itself into a tight knot. Kirby then gained control as he swung him around. After a few seconds, he let it go, Ditto crashing against the wall. Pikachu then contributed by using Quick Attack once Ditto got up again. This time, Ditto was really hurt and gave up on its rampage.

Everyone crowded around it, making sure it didn't attack again. Ditto got beaten up good, and returned to its normal state.

Pikachu decided to speak up. "Why did you attack us like that?" he demanded.

Ditto slowly got up and faced the group, ready to confess the purpose of its actions. "I'm sorry, guys," it said. "I just got sick and tired of being used for making eggs all the time. I mean, you don't know what it's like being forced to make eggs with every Pokemon I met. It didn't matter who it was; I was expected to meet with their expectations." Ditto sniffed a bit. "So one day, I decided that enough was enough, and fought back against the owners of this daycare. There was a Pokemon Trainer in here, too, and he got scared that he jumped out of that window." It pointed toward the shattered window.

"Ever since, no one else has come in. Word must have gone out quickly, warning everyone about me. So I dedicated myself to keep it that way, until you guys came along."

"Sorry about that," Pikachu said. "Really, we are. But don't worry; we're here for something else. If you don't mind, we're here to use the equipment in the back so that we can train."

Ditto was interested where this was going. "May I ask why?" it asked. Pikachu then explained about King Dedede and his plan of taking over the world, including the reason why Kirby and Meta Knight were there.

"…we need to stop him at all costs," Pikachu continued, "if we want to stop this all from happening."

"Even their Haxorus," Jigglypuff whispered in fear.

"Whoa, a Haxorus?" Ditto said in surprise. "This sounds like a tough job for you guys. I admire your bravery." Ditto thought it over. "Well, I guess I can hook you up with the equipment, but can I help you guys train, too? I can be of good use other than randomly going on a rampage every ten minutes."

So it was agreed. Ditto was their new official trainer, since it's been there for a long time, it knows how things work around there. They made their way through the cabin to the backyard. It was very spacious and green, including a jungle gym, exercise balls, some punching bags, and even a swimming pool. It looked really promising.

"I suggest we do stations," Ditto said, "so everyone can get a fair turn on each place." Ditto decided that Pikachu would be at the jungle gym, Kirby on the treadmill, Meta Knight with the punching bag, and Jigglypuff on the swimming pool. "You'll each last five minutes in each station," Ditto said. "I'll let you guys know when it's time to switch, and you'll switch clockwise." It took out a whistle and blew on it. "Go!" it shouted. Everyone scurried to their assigned stations and began training. Pikachu was climbing and hopping around the bars with a lot of energy. Kirby was jogging at an easy speed on the treadmill. Meta Knight punched and kicked the bag, occasionally using Galaxia, but not too much to not rip the bag. And Jigglypuff was swimming around, diving and backstroking throughout the pool.

Five minutes later, Ditto, who sat himself on a lawn chair under a big umbrella, blew the whistle, indicating the others to switch. Pikachu went to the treadmill, Kirby went to the punching bag, Meta Knight went to the swimming pool, and Jigglypuff went to the jungle gym. Pikachu set the speed to a higher one than Kirby's; he was feeling the burn and he liked it. Kirby's stubby arms managed to successfully punch the bag, also adding a kick now and then to the combination of delivered punches. Meta Knight didn't want anyone to see him without his mask, so he made an effort to keep all of his armor on to bear the weight of it as an excuse for training. Jigglypuff dried herself up as she was swinging about on the jungle gym, spinning on some bars as well.

They spent most of the afternoon training, reaching their full potential. They took a few breaks in between, feeling stronger each time. Ditto did its part by replenishing them with healthy food. Kirby hated diet food, but this time he let it pass and ate in moderate portions. When it was near sundown, Ditto ended the training session for today.

"Good job, guys!" Ditto praised. "That was pretty intense down there. Are you planning to come back tomorrow?"

"We'll come back for the next four days," Pikachu decided.

"Four?" Kirby asked in shock. He was really exhausted from today's workout that he didn't think he'll make it through for the planned time. Pikachu, however, thought it was enough if they put the same amount of energy they did today for the next few days.

"Sounds good," Ditto said. "Now, you better get some rest. I'll see you all tomorrow!"

They all said good-bye as they wearily made their way back home. It was a little hard to see the path, but they managed to get home safe and sound, still making sure there were no Pokemon Trainers around. They all tiredly climbed onto their beds and immediately fell asleep.

…

Axew was feeling all better, but no matter how much he insisted on continuing his training, Watchog suggested he should wait until tomorrow. He was getting worried for the little dragon boy. He watched him snuggle up as he slept, and then remembered something.

"Hey," Watchog said, "I saw a group of Pokemon today…"

"Yeah. So?" King Dedede asked, uninterested.

"Two of them seem to be outsiders just like you guys."

Escargoon looked up, now curious about this. "How did they look like?" he asked.

"One of them was pink with blue eyes and red shoes. The other was blue with glowing yellow eyes and wearing heavy armor. I know all the Pokemon species here, and I know they are not Pokemon."

King Dedede and Escargoon looked at each other with sudden realization. "Those two are here!?" King Dedede said in alarm.

"Who's those two?" Watchog asked.

"They are Kirby and Meta Knight, the two that are after us to try to stop us for sure," Escargoon said. "What do we do now?"

"If they're gonna try n' stop us," King Dedede said with a smirk, "then we'll give 'em a challenge." He looked toward the sleeping Axew. "Once he's all big n' all, they'll be the first to go," he said. "All we need now is to look where they're hiding." Everyone liked the sound of that. They knew that now they need to put more effort to their plan. Even though it was taking a bit longer than they thought to get there, they didn't really mind; their new task added to their list is to get rid of two puffballs.


	8. Stumped

A/N: Ah, I could have done a better ending, but I decided to leave it as it is and save the rest for next time. ;) Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 8: Stumped

Day two of Ditto's training session rolled over for the four friends. They all tried their best with the same endurance as the day before. This time, however, the sun was beating on them as the hot temperature slowly made its year-round comeback. They were all occasionally wiping the sweat off of their foreheads and hands as they pushed their limits. Meta Knight found it a bit difficult to do so because the sweat was going under his mask and he didn't want to take it off to wipe it away.

Ditto noticed how tired and sweaty everyone was, especially from the heat, so he decided to end the training early and invited them to have a little picnic instead. Everyone was grateful for this miracle. Ditto's mood has been changing in a positive way ever since he became their training coach.

Ditto made sandwiches and lemonade and set up a spot under a big shady tree. "You guys were great!" he praised. Everyone smiled and began to eat. Being in the shade was a big relief for the overworked creatures. They had a light conversation and some laughs in between.

They were amidst a talk about holidays when they were shushed by an unfamiliar sound. They looked at each other, wondering what to do. "I'll check it out," Ditto whispered. He crept up to the fence and peeked through a gap. He saw a Pokemon Trainer heading towards the daycare while whistling a tune. _Wasn't he warned about this place?_ Ditto thought in alarm. He scurried toward the group and motioned them to run inside. Taking this as a bad situation, they did what they were told to do and scampered inside, leaving their food behind, and quietly closing the door.

"What's wrong?" Pikachu asked. Ditto still had his eyes wide open from seeing the unexpected visitor. "I saw a Pokemon Trainer," he said. Pikachu gulped and Jigglypuff gasped.

"What are we gonna do?" Pikachu asked again.

"We might as well stay put until he leaves."

"But…what if he comes in here?" Jigglypuff asked nervously.

"Then we got to defend ourselves," Ditto said. "We have to fight if he wants to do something to us."

They decided to hide under the front desk; it was pretty much the only good hiding spot they could find. They waited for a long time among silence. Ditto was calm, Pikachu was alert, Kirby was a bit nervous, Jigglypuff was trembling, and Meta Knight was a bit anxious as well. They were squished together for comfort, but they couldn't stop thinking if the trainer would come in or not. Overall, they were pretty scared.

Suddenly, a noise made them stop breathing for a moment. They heard the back door open.

"Hello? Anyone here?"

They heard slow footsteps getting closer and closer.

"Yo! Anyone home?"

He stopped. They heard him go to a nearby room. Sounds of things moving around were made out. "Cool! Potions!" they heard him say. They heard him walk out of the room and continue to walk forward to where they were hiding. The group of friends huddled closer, hoping they wouldn't be caught.

He stopped. And right behind the desk. Their tiny hearts were pounding from all this tension. They heard him plop his backpack on top of the desk to put the stuff he found in it. He fumbled with a few things, causing one item to fall on the floor. Oh, no.

The trainer bent down to grab it and stopped when he noticed the hiding creatures. He was in shock at the sight before his eyes. "What the…" he said. Then he smiled. "You're mine now." They saw him take out a Pokeball, ready to catch them all.

Suddenly, Ditto quickly transformed into a Musharna and used Hypnosis on the trainer. It took him by surprise, but then a few seconds later he fell on the floor with a loud thump. Ditto changed back and started dragging the trainer. "C'mon guys, let's take him outta here!" Everyone grabbed on to a part of his clothing and dragged him out. They tossed him over the fence and covered him with the picnic cloth over his face. "I feel like a bad guy," Kirby said with a slight giggle.

"It had to be done," Ditto assured him. "You guys better get going before he wakes up."

"You should come with us!" Jigglypuff said. "Please?"

"I can't," Ditto said. "I belong here. This is my home." He looked out at the horizon. "It's dangerous for you guys to be here, so I'm afraid I'll have to cut your session short."

"No, you can't do that to us," Pikachu said with disappointment.

"I have to. It's for your own good. I can't let you be exposed to these kinds of dangers. I'm sorry."

Pikachu stood quiet as he looked hard at the ground, a frown building on his face. "…But we're not ready."

"Yes you are," Ditto said. "When the time comes, you'll find yourself more ready than you've ever been in your life." He patted his hand on his chest. "It's all in here."

This was unexpected for them. They were already saying good-bye in such a short notice. They didn't want to leave their new friend behind, after all he's done with his generosity and care. But if this is what he wants, they have to respect his decision.

"I believe in you. In all of you. I'm sure you'll do great. I am completely confident in you guys. What you did out there was fantastic. I can't do what you did, even though I've been here for a very long time." Jigglypuff's eyes began to swell with tears and tried not to whimper out loud.

"We'll miss you…" Kirby managed to say.

"Will we ever see you again?" Pikachu asked, his eyes shining from the reflection of his held-back tears.

"I have a feeling we will soon," Ditto said as he managed to smile. Suddenly they heard the trainer beginning to wake up. They were all alarmed. "You gotta go now! Now!" Ditto rushed them. "Hurry before he sees you! GO!" The original four creatures began to dash out of the place through the little cabin. Pikachu looked back and saw Ditto turn around, ready to face the awakening trainer. They ran out of the place into the forest as fast as their tiny feet could carry them. They didn't stop until they got to the tree house.

They got there without saying a word. They couldn't believe what happened. They didn't know what to do from that point; they felt lost.

…

"Okay, you got to put more focus on that attack. Put all your concentration and power on it and you'll do great." Watchog was helping Axew out with his training, trying to clear up any mistakes he has made to improve his battling experience, while King Dedede and Escargoon stayed back at the cave. Watchog made a dummy out of a flour sack and some sticks he found. They were training since very early in the morning. Axew was pretty tired from the repetitive practice attacks he was doing for hours now, especially under the hot sun.

"Do it again, this time aiming at the torso," Watchog instructed. Axew got into position as best as he could and tried out Watchog's advice. He closed his eyes and concentrated all his energy into the attack. When he felt all charged up, he opened his eyes and aimed at the dummy. He fired a Dragon Rage attack at it, and it blew up, setting itself on fire.

Watchog clapped, truly impressed. "There you go! It finally paid off!" Axew smiled at his praise as Watchog patted his back. Suddenly, Axew flashed a white light. "What's happening!?" he shrieked. Watchog stepped back, wondering the same thing. The light shifted into a taller and bigger figure. Then the light faded, leaving behind a Fraxure. "W-wha…?" Fraxure said in a deeper voice as he inspected his claws front and back.

"Oh, my!" Watchog said wide-eyed. "Y-you evolved!"

Fraxure couldn't believe it. He actually evolved, which meant he was progressing toward his goal. He felt proud of himself.

"…How do you feel?" Watchog asked as he looked up at his pupil.

"Stronger," Fraxure said as he flexed his arms. "I feel way more powerful than before."

"Now we're making progress, boy!" Watchog said excitedly. "Try your attack…" he realized they didn't have another dummy to train with. "…We'll do it again tomorrow."

They began walking back to the cave. They felt pretty hot, but the shady forest refreshed them a bit. Fraxure knew he had to get used to his new form, and it might be a bit difficult to do so. Which made him wonder…

"Hey, Watchog," Fraxure said. Watchog looked up at him. "What is it?"

"Why are we doing this, anyway?"

Watchog stopped. "To help King Dedede rule this universe."

"But why are you helping? I've seen how you can't stand him; it's pretty obvious. So why?"

Watchog looked both sides for anyone before he told him his side of the plan. "Well, you see, I have my own trick up my sleeve. If I 'help' him, he'll help me."

"Huh?"

"Once he gains control of this world, I'll take him down the throne and take his place. In other words, I'll be the ruler and not him. I'm gonna get rid of him!"

"…This all sounds pretty messed up."

"It is, but it's for my own good. I'll finally get the respect I deserve from everyone. Nothing will stop me!"

"But still…"

"You agreed to help me, so too bad."

"Oh… okay. But don't you think it's a bit unfair for others who haven't done any harm? I mean, you gotta earn respect, not take it from others by force."

Watchog thought about it. He knew he was right, he can't deny it. But at the same time he craved that power that King Dedede took for granted. He wanted it all. He felt envious of that gluttonous penguin king. "I know, kid, but trust me; it'll work out just fine." Then he lowered his voice. "But keep this between you and me. Not a word from this. Got it?"

"I guess so."

"Okay, let's go."

Watchog now felt safer with a trustworthy ally on his side. He felt confident that nothing will go wrong.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the cave. King Dedede was shooting rocks with a slingshot at any bird Pokemon that passed by, and Escargoon was just waking up from a nap.

"Well, look who's here," King Dedede said as he got up. "Who's your friend?"

"It's Axew," Watchog answered. "Now he's a Fraxure."

"How'd he do that!?"

"He evolved."

"… Is that some kind of magic?"

Watchog face-palmed. "I guess you can say that," he muttered. "So, did you two find the puffballs?"

"No," Escargoon said after a yawn. "The king didn't want to do anything today." Watchog glared at the king.

"But it's Sunday!" King Dedede justified in a whiny voice. Watchog simply rolled his eyes at him. Despite Axew's evolution, this whole thing might take a while.

…

Night fell upon the Pokemon world. There was finally a cool night breeze whirling about. Everyone at the tree house had trouble falling asleep, because they still couldn't believe what happened. What if they never see Ditto again? What if he got caught? These thoughts and more flooded their minds. Pikachu and Kirby were sitting in a corner listening to a song from a tiny radio they found a few days ago, even though the reception wasn't that great. Jigglypuff was sitting on another corner, fiddling with her tiny hands. Meta Knight was sitting on the opposite corner, just sitting there. It was a bit stuffy in the tree house. It was also boring, since they didn't know what to do at the moment. They just lingered there, doing almost nothing; they really felt lost.

Jigglypuff then decided to go on the roof. _Maybe stargazing would take my mind off of him,_ she thought. Hoping no one would notice, she quietly got up and tip-toed out the tree house. She climbed on the tree's branches until she reached the flat rooftop of the house. She sat down as comfortably as she could and directed her attention to the stars. It was quite a sight to see: there were a bunch of sparkling stars spread out across the dark night sky. It was wonderful, however Jigglypuff would always go back to think about Ditto. She just couldn't help it, and it was frustrating, too.

"Are you alright?"

Jigglypuff jumped at the unexpected voice coming from behind her. She turned around to find Meta Knight with his cape wrapped tightly around him. His glowing eyes flickered a bit, for he did not mean to scare his friend.

"Oh… hi, Meta Knight," she said a bit embarrassed. She stood up and faced him. "Ah, well, you know, I'm just thinking about Ditto. I wonder how he's doing…" She turned around to face the stars again. "I thought if I star-gazed a bit, it might do the trick, but I guess not…"

Meta Knight understood her concern. He, too, has been wondering of Ditto's well-being. It's been a pretty sad day after knowing the possibility of not seeing him ever again, even though they didn't really know each other that well. But his generous gesture of being their coach was one of those little details that made him a friend.

"I understand," Meta Knight said. "I have been worried as well. But I am sure he is fine and is in no danger." He shuffled his feet a bit, looking at Jigglypuff who still had her back turned to him. "If you do not mind, may I join you?" he finally asked. Jigglypuff turned around and finally smiled after a long time, which was a relief for Meta Knight to see her smile again. "Sure," she said as she sat down. Meta Knight silently shuffled over and carefully sat down next to her, a little too close than he intended.

They both silently watched the stars gleam in splendor. It really was beautiful that night. They saw a town not too far away still awake, and heard some Pokemon creatures murmuring along with the night. It truly was peaceful, but not for Meta Knight. He doesn't feel at ease when he's around Jigglypuff anymore compared to the first day they met. His hands get all sweaty, and this tingly feeling builds up inside him, each time stronger than the last. Just looking at her eyes makes his chest feel like it's about to burst. And he always asked himself: Why? He didn't understand how he could feel such strong emotions for a creature that was not his species nor from his universe. He always wished the feeling away, but at the same time, he just didn't mind and let it be. He would find himself liking it, and a few seconds later he would curse it. Oh, how complicated this was.

His thoughts were interrupted as Jigglypuff's sweet voice brought him back to reality. "Look! Look! A shooting star!" Meta Knight followed Jigglypuff's hand to where he saw one just in time. He realized he hasn't seen one in a while.

"Quick! Make a wish!" she squealed excitedly as her eyes shimmered with happiness. She looked up at the sky where the shooting star had been and thought of a wish, her hands made into tight fists. Meta Knight looked at her, paying attention to her cute little gestures. He didn't know what to wish for; he never really hoped for anything good for himself.

Then he thought of something. If he has strong feelings for Jigglypuff, he might as well take this opportunity to clear up everything; he must ask her if she feels the same way. After all, he didn't think he would keep this a secret forever. _I hope this turns out well_, he thought. _Please, do not let this ruin our friendship._

Meta Knight took a deep breath. "Jigglypuff…?" he asked. Jigglypuff turned to look at him, their faces surprisingly close. "Yes?" she asked innocently. Meta Knight started to feel sweaty. _Oh, great_, he thought. He gulped a bit too loudly, making him more nervous than what he already is. He looked down and fiddled with his hands a bit. "…I have been meaning to declare something. Something… important."

This caught Jigglypuff's attention. "What is it?" _What would he want to tell me?_ she thought.

Meta Knight made eye contact once again a few seconds later. "Well…" He paused for a few seconds. "I feel… strange when I am around you…" he said awkwardly. "But not in a bad way. Not at all." He felt his face get hot as the big moment approached. "After all this time I have spent with you, I appreciate our friendship, and now I am sure I can say that…"

"You can say what?" Jigglypuff asked now anxious.

"I can say that…" Meta Knight's eyes glowed brighter, which reflected on Jigglypuff's round shimmering eyes. "I… I…"

"There you are!" Kirby said from behind them. The unexpected appearance of the pink Star Warrior caught the other two off guard, completely ruining the moment. Way to go, Kirby.

_Great_, Meta Knight and Jigglypuff both thought. They were angry at Kirby for interrupting their privacy. Kirby then understood that he did just that. "Oh, sorry! Did I interrupt something?" he said as he scratched the back of his head. "Pikachu sent me up here. Get mad at him instead!" He grinned before he went back inside.

Jigglypuff and Meta Knight stood up, unsure of what to do after the perfect moment was ruined. Meta Knight felt really embarrassed and wished he could bury himself up; he didn't know if he'll ever get another chance to declare his true feelings for Jigglypuff.

As for her, she understood his embarrassment at the moment and decided not to push it any further. At least not for now. "We should go inside," she said awkwardly. Meta Knight nodded as he followed her inside the tree house.

When they all went to bed, the whole thing back there was still bugging Jigglypuff. She wanted to know what Meta Knight was going to say so badly! Then she recalled the conversation, and she deduced that it only meant one thing that he wanted to declare: he loves her. That's got to be it! Jigglypuff blushed, knowing that was the only possible conclusion according to Meta Knight's words. She gently rolled over to one side to look at him from across the room, his back facing her. _Does he really love me?_ She thought. Yet she had to admit, she admired him – everything about him. At that moment she convinced herself that while she wasn't aware of it, she, too, loved him back.


	9. Falling Into Place

Chapter 9: Falling Into Place

"I think today's the day you'll evolve into a Haxorus," Watchog told his student. A week has gone by and after all the hard training Fraxure has gone through, he has become stronger, and Watchog believes that the time has come for Fraxure to undergo his final evolution.

"You think so?" Fraxure asked.

"I know so," Watchog assured. "Now let's go get started."

They made their way out of the cave, completely ignoring the way-too-bored King Dedede and Escargoon. Watchog has thought about kicking it up a notch and make Fraxure fight an Ice Type Pokemon. Fraxure was a bit nervous, but he was still determined to do his best and prove his superiority over his weakness.

They made a long journey to the Cold Storage in Driftveil City by being ferried by a Wailmer. When they got there, they made sure that no human heard or saw them as they snuck around the tall grass around the storage.

After a few moments of snooping, Fraxure came across a wild Vanillish. "Hey, I was taking a nap!" Vanillish said. It looked at Fraxure, and smiled, knowing he had the advantage of beating him in battle. On instinct, they began their battle.

Vanillish attacked first by using Ice Beam. Fraxure dodged it just in time but a little late that it inflicted a bit of damage. Fraxure proceeded to use Crunch, getting Vanillish's cone-like part. Vanillish flinched, but at the same time Fraxure flinched as well because of how cold it was.

"Don't give up!" Watchog shouted.

Fraxure went ahead and tackled Vanillish down on the ground. All of Vanillish's air was knocked out as he thumped on the ground. Its eyes opened wide as it saw Fraxure preparing a Body Slam attack. It closed its eyes before the impact took place. Vanillish's whole body ached really badly, more than he expected. It was too hurt to move. With a blink of an eye, Fraxure got up, and without any hesitation, charged up a powerful Dragon Rage attack right on Vanillish's face. The blow was so powerful that Vanillish began to melt, and the boxes surrounding them moved from the blow. Vanillish fainted, and Fraxure had finally dominated his weakness.

Suddenly, he began to glow a white light. Watchog smiled sinisterly as he saw the light shift-shape into an even taller and leaner figure. Finally, their goal was finally met; the Haxorus process was complete.

Watchog approached his student. "Well done! I knew you can do it!" Haxorus smiled down at his mentor. He may be different in appearance now, but deep inside he was the same old Axew from before.

Suddenly, a man came out from the Cold Storage to see what all of that commotion was. He spotted the Pokemon, and wondered what they were doing. "Oh, no! Let's scram, kid!" Watchog yelled, and they both jumped off of the cliff where the Wailmer awaited them. Somehow they managed to hang on tight as they all drifted away back to the cave.

Moments later, they made it back to the cave. Escargoon was surprised at how big Fraxure had gotten. "He ain't that big," King Dedede said, showing how _not_ scared he was of his ridiculously tall size and menacing stance.

"Whatever," Watchog said. "The deal now is to proceed with the fun part: taking over the world!"

"That's right!" King Dedede said, finally excited to get on with the real fun. He rubbed his hands in an evil manner, unaware that Watchog looked at him, thinking of his own plan to overthrow the king. Escargoon looked at Watchog and felt something suspicious going on.

"I say we should bring on over the Waddle Dee army!" King Dedede declared. Watchog liked the sound of that. Escargoon took out a device that came with the silver portal and pressed the red button. A swirly purple vortex appeared before them. "Cool," Haxorus said in his deeper voice as he looked at the vortex in amazement.

"Now get that army!" King Dedede ordered. Escargoon crawled inside to look for enough Waddle Dees and their Waddle Doo commander. Then the vortex disappeared.

"I can't wait to clobber that Kirby and everything around here!" King Dedede eagerly said.

_I can't wait to clobber you,_ Watchog thought, but nodded instead.

Moments later, the vortex returned and out came Escargoon and a load of Waddle Dees and their Waddle Doo commander, all equipped with their spears and such. All the Waddle Dees looked around at their new environment. They hardly go out of the castle often, so this was a nice change for once.

"We are ready when you are," Waddle Doo said.

"Alright, well," King Dedede said, "Let's make sure everyone knows who the boss is around here. First, get a bunch of Pokeymans that know how to hypnotize people on our side. Then use 'em to get more Pokeymans involved and make our team grow. Soon enough, we'll take over this world! Heheheheheh!"

"Yes, your majesty," Waddle Doo said. "Alright, boys. You heard him. Let's go!" He took out his tiny sword and pointed it in the air as he led the troops on a Pokemon scavenger hunt.

The week that has gone by has been dull and awkward for the tree house creatures. Pikachu would try to train, but would lose motivation easily. Kirby would spend the majority of the time sitting on a corner eating multiple kinds of berries. And Meta Knight and Jigglypuff felt super awkward around each other now ever since that ruined night. They hardly exchange words now, and it was just so… awkward.

On this particular day, however, all that was about to change. While Kirby was eating his third serving of berries of the day, he heard familiar footsteps coming by this way. That's when he stopped eating and stood up. Everyone looked up, sensing that something was up, since Kirby didn't get up for anything unless it was bedtime.

"What's the matter, Kirby?" Jigglypuff asked. Kirby told everyone to be quiet and to follow him to the window. They all peaked out a tiny bit to see a cluster of orange creatures marching by. They all watched them until they were out of their sight.

"What are they?" Pikachu asked.

"They are Waddle Dees," Meta Knight explained. "King Dedede must have summoned an army to do his dirty work."

"We gotta do something, guys!" Kirby flailed. "Something! Anything! Quick!"

"I think we should follow them," Pikachu suggested after a moment of thinking. They all looked at each other and agreed on this new plan. Without any hesitation, they filed out of the tree house, forgetting the past week's habits. They made sure not to get too close to the army, or to not make any loud noises.

They followed them to an area of tall green grass, and saw how the army spread out, looking for a Pokemon among it. A Waddle Dee signaled the others to show them who he found. A long while has passed, and the four tree house creatures couldn't see what was going on, but they stayed put. Moments later, they saw them and three Venonats come out of the grass and walking to their next destination.

"I wonder what they're up to," Jigglypuff thought out loud.

"Definitely up to no good," Kirby said. "Let's follow 'em some more."

Hours passed, and now the four creatures were far away from their home. They saw how the Waddle Dee army gathered up lots of Pokemon who appeared to all know the moves Confuse Ray or Confusion. They followed them across cities and towns, until they ended up following them to the cave where King Dedede and his royal subjects were. They heard King Dedede give a speech to all the Pokemon present. The four creatures could make out words like "promise", "better", and "I'll be your king". Surprisingly, the Pokemon cheered as if it was time for elections. Now the quartet has an idea on what was the king going to do.

"We'll conquer everything 'til we get to the uh… the Pokemon League!" King Dedede said. Everyone cheered once again. Then they heard all the creatures in the cave coming out and ready to carry out their king's orders.

"I guess…" Pikachu said as he turned towards his friends. "I guess this is it, guys. We gotta go in and stop everything. It's now or never."

Everyone looked at each other, nervous about the truth. They didn't feel ready, but as Ditto had said, "When the time comes, you'll find yourself more ready than you've ever been in your life." At that moment they had plotted out a plan involving their old friend Joltik and to try to get the Haxorus on their side.

"Okay!" Pikachu said. "Let's go make some sort of armor for us!" Pikachu and Kirby got a head start, but when Jigglypuff was about to go follow them, Meta Knight stopped her.

"Jigglypuff," he said, trying to act as if the awkward tension of the past week was nothing. "I know this might not be the right time, but I would like to finish what we had pending the other night." This caught Jigglypuff's attention as she fully turned around to face the masked Star Warrior. "Oh yeah," Jigglypuff recalled. "What did you want to declare?"

Meta Knight felt the sweaty sensation return to his gloved hands as his face got warm. "Jigglypuff," he said again after taking a deep breath. He looked at Jigglypuff and saw a slight blush form on her cheeks as she anxiously waited for his declaration. "…I want to admit that I—''

"Guys! Aren't you coming?" Pikachu said as he peeked out from the bushes behind them. Another moment ruined, thanks to Pikachu.

"Yeah, we're coming," Jigglypuff said a bit annoyed. She waited for Pikachu to leave before she could return back to their conversation.

"Sorry, now what was it you wanted to tell me?" she asked anxiously.

Meta Knight lost all motivation because of Pikachu's interruption. "Never mind, it is not that important," he lied as he went past her, avoiding eye contact. _Darn,_ Jigglypuff thought as she looked back where Meta Knight had gone, his cape wrapped tightly around him. Feeling upset, Jigglypuff followed the rest of the lot to set the plan in motion.


	10. Bow Down to your New King!

Chapter 10: Bow Down to Your New King!

Pikachu, Kirby, Meta Knight, and Jigglypuff were busy making quick disguises to blend into the bushes better. They made masks, shields, and prepared some tree branches to use as weapons. They didn't think they were going to need them, since Pikachu and Jigglypuff are Pokemon, Meta Knight has Galaxia, and Kirby has his Copy ability, but they made them just in case. Jigglypuff also made small camouflage attire for Joltik. All they needed now was to recruit him, but they didn't know exactly where he came from, except that he came from where the lake is at, which is the opposite way where the Waddle Dee army went, so they went back to the front of the tree house.

"Let's split up," Pikachu suggested. They all agreed and took their own route. They also agreed to meet back at the tree house in about ten minutes. Pikachu saw a group of young Weedle hanging out in front of a cave and asked if they've seen Joltik, but they said no. Kirby didn't really go anywhere with his recruit search because he found more berries and stopped to eat them. Meta Knight searched from the tree tops, trying to find some sort of yellow blob he can go to and find the little Pokemon. Jigglypuff was walking through the forest when she heard a familiar voice from behind her.

"Hey, Jiggs! Is that you?"

She turned around and saw a Wobbuffet waving at her. She recognized him as an old childhood friend she hasn't seen in many years. Last time she saw him he was a Wynaut, and was amazed at how big he had gotten. "Wob? Is it really you?"

"Hey, it _is_ you!" They ran towards each other and hugged. "Wow, it's been so long!" Jigglypuff said as she embraced him. "I know!" Wob said. They released from their hug, still smiling widely. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Oh, you wouldn't _believe_ what's going on!" Jigglypuff said as she rolled her eyes. Without any hesitation she told Wob about the whole King Dedede situation and how she, Pikachu, and her new friends are in the process of stopping them.

"…so we've split up minutes ago to try to find him," she continued. "He'll help us out because he has told us that he is part of a Joltik-Galvantula clan of 300, which will be perfect for King Dedede's defeat."

"Wow," Wob said in amazement. "I'm still trying to comprehend how they were able to cross over to our world. Anyway, that's pretty awesome and all, but don't you feel a lot of pressure doing this?"

Jigglypuff realized she hadn't thought of that and suddenly began to feel it. "No, but now I do!" she said a bit worried. Wob chuckled. "Don't worry too much, though; you get too hectic sometimes." Jigglypuff laughed at the truth.

Jigglypuff's laugh was then detected by none other than Meta Knight, who happened to be flying by on his way back to the tree house. He looked down and saw her with another Pokemon. Something told Meta Knight to stop and listen, and immediately did so as he carefully landed on a nearby tree. The tree groaned a bit, and Jigglypuff and Wob looked towards it. Meta Knight froze and waited for them to turn back around. A few seconds later his plead was heard as Jigglypuff and Wob continued to talk. Meta Knight breathed a bit easier and leaned forward a bit to hear them.

"Well, since you're looking for teammates," Wob said, "can I join the cause? I'll be more than happy to help you guys out."

"Sounds good!" Jigglypuff replied. "Why haven't I asked you sooner?" She looked around. "Well, I didn't find Joltik, and now we have to go meet up with the others. Let's go." Meta Knight saw them walk away, chattering about things they have done over the years. _Who is this guy?_ He thought. He felt that same revolting anger and weirdness in his gut he had when Joltik was around; he was jealous again. He didn't deny it, because he had already come to realize that he loves Jigglypuff. However, he tried to calm himself down a bit to not make it too obvious when he went to join the others. He waited for a few minutes until he flew back to the tree house.

Once he got there, he saw Pikachu talking to the blue Pokemon in almost the same manner as Jigglypuff as well. He landed next to Jigglypuff, trying to keep his cool as best as he could. "Oh, hey Meta Knight," she greeted him sweetly. "You didn't have any luck finding him either?"

"No," Meta Knight said. "Who is he?" he asked almost in a demanding tone as he stared intensely at the Wobbuffet.

"Oh, he's Wob, an old childhood friend of mine and Pikachu's," she said, having no idea of Meta Knight's jealousy. Meta Knight slightly nodded, now knowing who this stranger was, but that didn't change the intensity of his jealousy. Not one bit.

Moments later, Kirby joined the group… with Joltik! "Hello!" Joltik peeped. Meta Knight cursed under his breath. Pikachu felt proud of the pink puffball. "Good job, Kirby!" Pikachu praised. "Where'd you find him?"

Kirby shrugged. "I was eating more of those pink berries when I saw him walk by, so I stopped him and got him to come." Pikachu nodded a bit. "Alright, well even without a whole lot of effort, you got the job done." Kirby smiled in agreement.

After introducing everyone to everyone else, Pikachu got a twig and traced a map on the dirt. He outlined a good enough picture of the whole Unova region, marking their spot, King Dedede's, and the Pokemon League's. He explained what King Dedede intends to do and how, and what they were going to do.

"And here," Pikachu said, "are the places where the Pokemon army will surround." He circled the cities where lots of people and Pokemon reside, such as Castelia City and Driftveil City. "Remember, their army consists of Ghost and Psychic types, so we need to use super effective moves against them."

"So when do we get started?" Wob asked.

"We'll start as soon as we get the Joltik-Galvantula army ready." Pikachu looked at Joltik. "Go with your clan and let them know. Kirby, go with him. After that's done, we'll go and infiltrate their hideout by getting rid of the guards at the entrance."

"I hope my mom's okay with all of this," Joltik mentioned. "I don't know if she'll let me go through this, because it's a school night, and she doesn't like me to get involved in big events like these." He ducked his head a bit. "She's kind of overprotective, you know."

"Dude!" Pikachu said a bit frustrated. "You _have_ to convince her _and_ your clan. If not, all Pokemon are doomed to live under tyranny. Do you want that?"

"No…"

"Then do what's best for us. For _all_ of us. Now go, you two, and come back with them."

Joltik and Kirby looked at each other, and then began running off to find the yellow bug clan. Pikachu told his sister to get their weapons ready, and to get Wob some leaves for his disguise. Meta Knight stayed behind as Pikachu described in more intricate detail about the plan.

"…and with them distracted… Meta Knight? Are you listening?"

Meta Knight snapped out of his thoughts. "… Y-Yes. Keep going."

Pikachu looked at him with some suspicion, but continued anyway.

…

The sun has set, and King Dedede along with his Waddle Dee troops and new Pokemon army with an abundance of Pokemon from across the region were close by the Pokemon League. Their hard work has paid off: they had the humans captive, and all the other Pokemon who refused to be under the king's rule were forced to do so or else. Chaos has broken loose because of this, and lots of city damage was made. Now the once relaxing and calm sky carried the smoke of burning houses, although it was never intended to go to such drastic measures. Escargoon, Haxorus, and Watchog were in the front of the pack along with their king. Some Pokemon were dragging along the captive humans – some of them were their former trainers.

"I can't believe this is really happening!" King Dedede said. "And not once did I see that Kirby try and stop me. I guess he was too scared and went back home!" He laughed at the thought, still very impressed with his almost-effortless accomplishments.

"We better not keep our hopes too high up, your highness," Watchog said ominously. Of course, he was referring to the king's safety.

"Aw, shut up. Don't ruin the moment!" King Dedede snapped as he went back to his happy thoughts. Escargoon rolled his eyes. "He's right, Sire," he added. "We must be ready for anything that may happen between now and later on." King Dedede waved his hand carelessly at them to try and stop them from pressing the subject even further.

Moments later they arrived at the eight gates that led to the Pokemon League. The guard in charge of the entrance was surprised to see many Pokemon with human captives being lead by a non-Pokemon creature. He stood back, not knowing what to do. He never had or heard of this kind of encounter before.

"Stand aside for the new king of this world!" Escargoon warned him. The guard did what he was told and slowly backed away out of sight. King Dedede smirked and advanced his group towards the entrance. He took out his hammer and swung at the gate. The impact was so huge that it sent the gate door flying away into the distance. The human captives cowered after seeing such unexpected power from the blue penguin king. They advanced toward the next gate and did the same thing, only this time they left some Pokemon in charge of guarding that area. Until they went through all eight gates, they saw the Elite Four standing there, because word was sent out of their arrival.

The Elite Four summoned all their Pokemon out to be prepared for any attack. "Step aside," Escargoon said. "It's too late to stop us now." One of the four, Marshal, told his Sawk to use Karate Chop on him. It was quickly intercepted by a Venonat who used Psychic. It was a critical hit and immediately weakened Sawk.

"Hmph," said King Dedede, "You people hurt these innocent Pokey-man for your own troubles. That is wrong!" He proudly took hold of his robe. "Which is why _I'm_ gonna be king of all of yous and make things go my way; the _right_ way!" Of course, this wasn't the exact purpose of the invasion, but it was pretty convincing. It was so convincing that Sawk realized that the king was right, besides having a strong army of supporters. He stood up and began walking towards them. "Sawk! Get back here!" Marshal said, but Sawk ignored his trainer's order. He thought it was finally time to change the course of things around here.

He stood in front of King Dedede and his army. "I want to join your cause," he said. The Elite Four only heard him say "Sawk", but had an idea on what he meant to say. King Dedede smirked. "Alright," he said as he welcomed a new member. All of Marshal's Pokemon looked at each other in confusion. Moments later, Throh joined the opposing team, and soon enough all of the Elite Four's Pokemon were at the king's orders.

"I cannot believe this!" Caitlin said. "This can_not_ be happening! I must be dreaming…"

"I'm afraid not," Shauntal said. "Although we are facing the cause of all this, I myself can't believe it either."

"My Pokemon… on that penguin's side!" Grimsley said angrily. "Where did he come from, anyway?"

"Who knows?" said Marshal. "But… is there anyone who can stop this? All of our Pokemon are against us now."

"Too bad; you lose!" King Dedede mocked. He then turned to his now huge army. "Onward, to the Champion!" All the Pokemon cheered and followed their leader, the Elite Four left as hopeless bystanders.

Eventually, the army stood in front of a fleet of stairs where the Unova Champion Alder was standing and waiting for them at the top. He crossed his arms. "What's all of this?" he said lightly. "There's no need for a revolt."

"But there is," King Dedede said. "Pokemon deserve better than what you humans do to 'em." There were some mutters from the army agreeing to their king's words.

"Are you sure you're not just saying that just so you can get your way?" Alder challenged. "Kings like you have a long history of being cruel tyrants. I truly feel sorry for the poor creatures that have to be loyal to you."

King Dedede's temper began to escalate at a high pace. "Are you questionin' my authority!?" he demanded.

"I don't know; am I?" Alder retorted.

King Dedede didn't want to hear any more insults. "Just wait and see what'll happen after I'm through with you!" He pulled out his hammer and began to stomp after him. Alder didn't know what he was going to do. He underestimated his hammer power and thought that he wouldn't go through with what he intended to do, especially with a Pokemon in his way. Quickly, he sent out Bouffalant to take on the penguin king.

King Dedede quickened his pace the closer he got to the Pokemon. He began to prepare his aim, Bouffalant doing the same as he charged up a powerful Headbutt attack. Unfortunately, the king was faster and was first to strike. With a powerful whack on the side of his head, Bouffalant was instantly knocked out. Alder was shocked at what happened and immediately returned his injured Pokemon.

King Dedede glared at Alder with such hatred that he thought he saw flames burning in his eyes. Without further delay, King Dedede whacked the champion on the gut and sent him falling to his doom several feet down.

King Dedede stood proudly where Alder's former spot was and raised his hammer in the air. All the Pokemon cheered, for they have managed to take over one region.

After everyone settled down, the king made an announcement. "Alright, you Pokeymons!" he said, "Nice work today. Tomorrow will be another busy day, so you better get some sleep tonight! We leave at dawn!" They cheered once again, and then settled in to sleep. Some Pokemon and Waddle Dees had to take shifts in guarding the place overnight.

Watchog took Haxorus to the side and talked about his plan. "The king is already sleeping," he said, "so what we'll do is take away his hammer, robe and crown and reveal what he really has in store for us. After I reveal the fraud of a penguin he is, I'll take place as leader and you'll be my royal advisor."

"Really?" Haxorus whispered excitedly.

"Yes," Watchog said. "You know, you're like a son to me, so why not?"

Haxorus smiled at his father figure and followed him to do what he planned. Little did they know that the tree house team was already approaching the place with an army of their own, ready to restore everything back to normal and get the king out of the Pokemon World's business.


	11. Turning the Tables

Chapter 11: Turning the Tables

Watchog and Haxorus were keeping watch on King Dedede, waiting for him to fall asleep. They also made sure that Escargoon was out of this. After a while of waiting, King Dedede finally began snoring. "I hope this works," Haxorus said.

"It has to," Watchog said determined.

Watchog carefully tiptoed over to the snoring penguin king and carefully removed his beanie-crown combo. King Dedede was too much of a heavy sleeper that he didn't listen to anything around him at the moment, which was perfect for Watchog's next step.

A Venonat noticed Watchog's actions and ran up to him. "Hey, what are you doing?" he demanded.

"You'll see," Watchog said with a smirk. Then he turned his attention to the crowd of Pokemon present in the room, Haxorus beside him. "Fellow Pokemon! May I have your attention please!"

The Venonat rushed back and joined the crowd. All the Pokemon turned towards him, murmuring amongst themselves about what is going on. Soon, the murmurs subsided, yet their confusion remained as they waited for Watchog to continue.

"I am standing before all of you to say that King Dedede is a fraud!"

More murmurs were heard, only this time a bit more loudly and full of shock and disbelief.

"Yes, it's true. He is a fraud and should not be listened to. He has done absolutely nothing to get where he is now. Take it from me; I did all of his dirty work just for him to be sleeping on the top of this staircase. Now tell me: doesn't this contradict his speech he gave not too long ago about treating Pokemon 'the right way', when he clearly did the opposite of that to me?"

The Pokemon army looked at each other, realizing he was right. Were they really that blind to not have realized that he could have been doing the same thing they set out to change without them knowing?

Watchog then put on King Dedede's headwear. "So, I got a proposition to make. I'll be the best leader that you'll ever have, if you give me a chance. I'll carry out King Dedede's promise, but the difference is that I will make it happen with no tricks, no gimmicks, no nothing. I will help you all get what you deserve: freedom! Now what do you say?"

Slowly, a wave of cheering came from the Pokemon army. This went better than Watchog expected, precisely how easily they were to convince, but he didn't question it. Now it was finally his turn to shine.

After the cheering subsided – still not waking up King Dedede – Watchog placed his first command as king. "Now," he said, "start by dethroning this penguin and kick him out of my territory!" On this command, a handful of Pokemon quickly rushed to King Dedede and threw him out. They couldn't pick up his trusty hammer, so they simply left it there. Watchog smirked, and then saw Escargoon from the corner of his eye.

Escargoon looked around. "Where's King Dedede?" he asked confused. Watchog turned towards him. "He's not king anymore; I am. And you'll help me throughout my reign." Watchog approached him. Escargoon tried to escape, but Haxorus was blocking the way, leaving him with no other choice. _This looks like a dead end,_ Escargoon thought hopelessly.

…

The tree house team, Wob, and Joltik – now fully camouflaged and hiding in the bushes - saw the dethroning of King Dedede, making them wonder what was going on. This was something they weren't expecting at all. Kirby turned towards Meta Knight, showing concern in what to do with him. Meta Knight clearly read his thoughts and wondered the same thing, his eyes turning green. Sure, he was an unfair and villainous king, but deep down they knew he wasn't really all that. So what were they going to do?

"I think we should help him," Kirby finally said. Everyone looked at him, wondering if that was a good idea. Meta Knight's eyes reverted back to normal and agreed with this. "Are you sure?" Pikachu asked. Meta Knight nodded. "It is the right thing to do," he added. Pikachu nodded, not quite understanding this sudden desire to help out the one who was supposedly their enemy.

With some teamwork, they managed to haul King Dedede into the bushes. He was still deep asleep, his snoring louder than before. "How do we wake him up?" Jigglypuff asked.

"I can shock him!" Joltik suggested excitedly.

"That might work," Pikachu said. Everyone else was a bit hesitant about it but didn't oppose. They stepped back and let Joltik do his thing. He used a Thunderbolt attack, immediately waking up King Dedede as he yelled in pain at the top of his lungs.

"YEOW!" he screamed. The tree house quartet all put their hands over the fuming King Dedede's beak, trying to shut him up. After he calmed down a bit, he looked around and realized he was outside with the wrong team.

"Hey! Why am I outside!?" he yelled. Once again everyone shushed him. "You'll get us caught!" Pikachu whispered loudly.

"Isn't that what I'm supposed to do?" King Dedede challenged. He was about to call for help when Kirby stopped him with the words he thought he'd never hear in his life: "You've been dethroned!"

"…W-what?"

"It's true," Meta Knight said. "We saw how you were thrown out of the place from here."

"You're lyin'!" King Dedede said.

"Then how do you explain your missing headwear?"

King Dedede patted the top of his head, not feeling his beloved beanie-crown combo. His face immediately turned worried, beginning to believe what they were telling him. "This… this means that I'm not King Dedede anymore," he said in realization. "I'm just… Dedede." He slumped on the ground, feeling completely defeated. Neither Meta Knight nor Kirby have seen him so upset before; they kind of felt bad for him now.

"So who's the new king?" Pikachu asked.

Dedede's face turned a bit angry. "It's that brown Pokemon, Watchog. That lil' sneak got the best outta me." He then turned to the others. "What are y'all doin' here, anyway?"

"We came to stop you, but since there's been a change of plans, I guess we came to stop King Watchog," Kirby said.

Dedede shuddered. "King _Watchog?_ King _Dedede_ sounds _way_ better!" Meta Knight rolled his eyes.

"Then we have no time to lose," Pikachu said. He turned towards Dedede and extended his arm. "Are you with us or not?"

Dedede stared at his arm. After being dethroned, he kind of felt like he doesn't have another chance at conquering the Pokemon world anymore, and he felt like whacking the heck out of Watchog, so why not? "Alright," he finally said as he firmly shook Pikachu's hand.

"Hey, where's that other guy who was with you?" Jigglypuff asked. They all realized they forgot about Escargoon.

"Who, Escargoon?" Dedede said. "For now, he's doin' fine in there." Dedede stayed quiet for a bit as he thought of something. "Hey, Kirby," he began, "since when can you talk?"

Kirby shrugged. "I don't know, either."

"Guys, we can't lose any more time!" Joltik exclaimed. "We gotta go now!"

"Alright," Pikachu said. "Follow my lead."

He made sure the Joltik-Galvantula clan were standing by waiting to come out when necessary, and quietly led the rest through the bushes. They were very close to the main gate, which was guarded by two Zubat. Pikachu signaled his team to stay put and rushed out of the bushes. Jigglypuff was worried he'll get hurt, but tried to assure herself that Pikachu is strong. Besides, Flying Types are weak against Electric Types.

Pikachu scurried on his four paws as fast as he could. Finally the Zubat guards saw him and rushed to attack him. Pikachu swiftly slid underneath them and used a Thunder attack. The two Zubat were shocked so hard that they immediately fell and fainted. "Yay!" squealed Jigglypuff. Pikachu turned around and signaled the others to follow him. They went past the big gate and rushed inside.

Soon enough, in front of the second gate were three Venonats and a Waddle Dee. The Waddle Dee recognized Dedede, and being a loyal subject, he rushed towards him and joined their team. Dedede smiled approvingly.  
"Trespassers!" one of the Venonats said. "Get' em!" another said. They rushed towards them and used Tackle on Pikachu, Jigglypuff and Kirby. They were taken off guard and fell on the ground. Meta Knight's eyes flashed red as he saw how his friends got hurt and decided to take action. He ran at them and using the flat part of Galaxia hit them hard on the side of their bodies. Once the Venonats tumbled, he stabbed Galaxia with all his might on the ground, emitting spikes to come out of the ground in a wave-like pattern, knocking out the Venonats as they flew into the sky in the form of a star.

Meta Knight helped his friends up. "That was amazing!" Jigglypuff said as she hugged him in gratitude. Meta Knight blushed a bit and looked away. "Yeah, that was pretty rad," Pikachu added. "Are you all alright?" Meta Knight asked. Everyone affirmed they were okay, and then moved on.

Upon going through the second gate, they find more Waddle Dees. They all rushed to Dedede the same way as the first one did. "Hey there, guys!" Dedede said. He had to admit he was never happier to have his fellow royal subjects on his side, even though he wasn't king anymore. Kirby saluted them, and then Pikachu pressed on about moving on, so they did.

They are now past the fourth gate and encounter a Dugtrio, an Aron and a Vanilluxe. Dugtrio immediately used Dig and burrowed himself underground. Aron and Vanilluxe split up, trying to attack different opponents. Aron charged at Pikachu and Jigglypuff, while Vanilluxe rushed at Meta Knight and Kirby. Aron used Headbutt on Pikachu, and Vanilluxe used Icicle Spear on Meta Knight. They didn't dodge on time and were really hurt from the attacks. Their partners helped them up and fought back. Jigglypuff used Pound, and Kirby inhaled some nearby rocks and spit them at Vanilluxe. Pikachu and Meta Knight got up and helped fight back however they could, with Joltik and Wob finally joining in. Thanks to Ditto's training, they were able to defeat them. They were all about to go on until Dugtrio emerged from the ground and hit Kirby. Jigglypuff used Sing and then used Body Slam, sending Dugtrio down underground. Joltik helped Kirby up and excitedly praised Jigglypuff's "girl power". Jigglypuff blushed and giggled, and then they all went on.

The team was a bit exhausted from the fighting, but they pressed on. The fifth stage was filled with four Waddle Dees, who also ran towards their former king. There were also some Minccino and a Dustox guarding the next gate. Dustox used Psybeam on Joltik, and one Minccino used Swift on Wob. They fell hard on the ground.

"Dedede!" Meta Knight said. "Help us! Please!"

Dedede felt a bit unsure about it. He doesn't really know how to fight very well without his hammer. His hammer gave him confidence and got the job done faster. He fumbled nervously with his hands, not admitting that he can't fight; he just remained quiet looking at the ground.

Meta Knight quickly turned back around, not waiting for a verbal answer. He continued to jab some hits on the flying Dustox as he himself flew as well. Kirby swallowed a Minccino and was able to copy its ability. He had a gray cap that resembled Minccino and the same tail as him. "Cool!" he said as he swept the spot with his new tail. He then used it to attack the Minccino troop along with Jigglypuff and Pikachu.

Meta Knight and Dustox's fight was almost like a dance in the sky, the way they zoomed about in the air, slashing and jabbing at their opponent. Meta Knight then cut a bit through Dustox's left wing. Dustox flinched and fell. Meta Knight swooped down and reverted his wings back to cape form and landed softly. The others were just about to defeat the Minccino and Wob and Joltik were helping them. Wob was slapped by the last Minccino's tail, and then Wob used Counter and hit him so hard he went flying across the room and fainted. "Alright!" Joltik said and bumped with Wob. Then they all went to the next room.

The next three rooms consisted of fighting and recruiting Waddle Dees. The opponents got tougher and tougher as they advanced, and everyone was getting wearier and wearier. After long vigorous minutes of battling, they have defeated the last gate guardians, Solrock, Lunatone, and three Roggenrola. Except for Dedede and his Waddle Dee troops, everyone had some sorts of cuts and bruises on them, and some limped from pain. It was very awful. But it was all about to become serious, because now they were standing in front of the gate that lead to the Elite Four.

They walked in, noticing that there were no Pokemon guarding the place this time. It was also very quiet, and very dark, a cool breeze going through it at the right temperature to make you shiver. They walked a bit more and saw four glowing stepping stones and an opening in the middle of the floor. They approached it and figured that it lead to the main floor, where King Watchog and the others are.

"This is it," Pikachu said as they all continued to stare at the opening. They all agreed mentally, imagining what awaits them on the other side. Pikachu looked up at the others, seeing how they all felt about it as he read their body language. Some were scared, some were determined, and some were a bit nervous.

With another wave of his hand, Pikachu signaled everyone to follow him. Hesitantly, walking slowly and close together, they all made their way to their next challenge: King Watchog's fortress.


End file.
